Jurgen Klopp might admittedly not be the biggest fan of international football, but he is the staunchest defender of his own squad when they report for their respective nations. Be it a lack of minutes or playing out of position, the German is never shy of coming in to bat for his Liverpool players.
He has repeatedly clashed with Brazil boss Tite over his limited use of Fabinho over the years and has been embroiled in more than one spat with England counterpart Gareth Southgate in recent times. In this final international break before the 2022 World Cup, it’s safe to assume the Three Lions manager might not currently be Klopp ’s favourite person.
Eyebrows were raised when Reds captain Jordan Henderson was a late call-up to the England squad for Nations League clashes with Italy and Germany despite having missed the last month with a thigh injury. While ahead of schedule and ready to return to training, Klopp would have perhaps preferred his skipper to continue his comeback under Liverpool ’s own watchful eye after being earmarked for an October return.
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Not ready to feature in Friday’s loss to the Azzurri , it remains to be seen if he will play in Tuesday’s dead-rubber against Die Mannschaft . Either way his call-up seems a thoroughly pointless exercise.
Yet his treatment pales in comparison to that of Trent Alexander-Arnold after the right-back was left out of the matchday squad to face Germany. Having only been an unused substitute against Italy, the 23-year-old has now run out of opportunities to impress Southgate with the Three Lions.
Having only featured in five of England’s 31 games leading up to the World Cup, the right-back remains behind Reece James, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker in the pecking order and faces an uphill battle to book his place on the flight to Qatar. Of course he found himself in a similar situation last year ahead of Euro 2020 and had looked set to miss out, only for Southgate to include all four right-backs in his squad. Naturally, he’d then be forced to pull out of the squad through injury.
There will always be scrutiny regarding Alexander-Arnold’s limited involvement for England, seeing as he is English football’s most creative player. 58 assists for Liverpool over the past four years are proof alone of that.
Yet Southgate has earned Klopp’s wrath in the past by playing the defender in midfield, while he admittedly lacks experience as a wing-back, in contrast to James and Trippier in particular, in the England’s boss favoured five-man defensive system. You could argue how can he gain experience in such a role when the Three Lions use him so sporadically, but we must also bow down to what the former Middlesbrough manager sees in training.
“You can have a style of play and a way of playing, and a balance to the team, that... at Liverpool they find a way of playing that brings the best out of his attributes and that's what we're all trying to do with every team,” Southgate said at his latest press conference.
"You're trying to build a team that accentuates the positives, and within the group protects yourselves against how the opponents might come from you.
"He (Alexander-Arnold) does have a fantastic range of passing, we're blessed with different profiles of player in that position. If we play with wing-backs, Trippier and Reece James are also exceptional with the ball, in different ways, and we're always having to look at the full package with everything.
"If you assess the players on all of their attributes, they've all been to Champions League finals, some of them have been to latter stages of major tournaments with us, Trent's won the league, Trippier's won the Spanish league, Walker's won the English league.
"There are so many good attributes about them, it's a really difficult position to make decisions on, but we have to go with the ones we believe, and ultimately I'll be judged on the outcome, as we know."
Calls for Alexander-Arnold’s inclusion have only increased, given that England have scored just once in their last five outings, and that was a late penalty, haven't scored from open play since March and their last competitive goal from open play came in a 10-0 victory over San Marino last November.
The Three Lions have been horrendously toothless throughout their Nations League campaign, culminating in their relegation last week, and, devoid of ideas, seemingly continue to suffer a Euro 2020 final loss hangover. In normal circumstances, playing to Alexander-Arnold’s strengths could at least be perceived as a possible solution.
Alas, the opportunity to hand him a final audition has been declined. Given he has missed out entirely on this dead-rubber with Germany, the writing appears to be on the wall for the full-back as his World Cup hopes look likely to end in disappointment.
Ironically though, Southgate has perhaps never been more justified to overlook Alexander-Arnold considering the right-back is in the worst form of his Liverpool career. The 23-year-old might have scored thunderbolts against Man City and AFC Bournemouth, but, like many of his Reds team-mates, has been a pale imitation of his best during a slow start to the season.
His showings against Fulham, Manchester United and Napoli in particular have not been pretty on the eye, while question marks over his involvement in Real Madrid’s winner in last year’s Champions League final remain.
Injuries have ultimately not helped Klopp’s squad but the likes of Alexander-Arnold could be accused of suffering a hangover of their own after missing out on the Premier League and Champions League at the final last season. Alternatively, the German could well be being proven right about burn-out and the negative effects of elite players playing far too much football.
Yet rather than call him up and not use him, should Southgate have not just left an out-of-form Alexander-Arnold out of his latest camp entirely? Either way, perhaps his treatment of the defender could be a blessing in disguise.
With his World Cup place under increasing threat, Alexander-Arnold has something else to play for when he returns to the AXA Training Centre. With a point to prove, perhaps his Germany snub will help provide the bit between the teeth needed to kickstart his campaign.
Meanwhile, his lack of minutes for England alongside Liverpool’s two suspended matches following the Queen’s death mean the 23-year-old has played just 59 minutes of Premier League football over the past month, alongside two Champions League clashes with Napoli and Ajax. Dare it be said, an accidental much-needed respite perhaps?
Klopp will remain protective of Alexander-Arnold and might well take issue with Southgate's latest decision when next on media duties, but deep down he will see the positives. His main concern will always be getting the defender firing for Liverpool. England are nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
If this latest Three Lions snub provides the inspiration to reignite the 23-year-old’s fortunes, great. If the lack of game-time has left him refreshed, perfect. If the increasing possibility of missing out of the World Cup, having sat out the Euros through injury, provides extra fire in the belly, then Klopp will be rubbing his hands together with glee.
Ultimately it’s win-win for Liverpool and the German now as they look to get the best back out of their overlooked defender. If he’s included in Southgate’s squad for Qatar, it suggests he will have rediscovered his form in the weeks ahead. If not, he’s given a winter off to work with Klopp in their mid-season training camp, giving the Reds a prolonged period to build Alexander-Arnold back up before unleashing him back on Premier League defences in 2023 after yet another snub, regardless of its justification.
Below-par performances from player, club and nation have left all parties facing scrutiny. But Southgate might have inadvertently done Liverpool the biggest of favours and handed Klopp the key to unlocking the real Trent Alexander-Arnold again, and waving off this poor imitation once and for all.
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