England fans who don’t watch Liverpool on a regular basis probably wonder why Trent Alexander-Arnold is rated as highly as he is. Despite making his international debut four years ago this week, the Reds right-back has a modest return of one goal and four assists from his first 17 appearances for his country. As the goals he created were against Montenegro and San Marino, they aren’t going to carry any additional weight with supporters either.
It's not surprising Alexander-Arnold hasn’t been able to establish himself in the side when Gareth Southgate usually employs tactics which don’t play to his strengths. It’s not that the Three Lions’ boss doesn’t ever use the 4-3-3 formation in which Trent plays at club level, it’s just rarely deployed when he’s in the starting XI.
It can’t be a complete coincidence that his one international goal to date occurred when he played in a 4-3-3 set up and arrived in the box from the right flank to fire home against the USA. Southgate seems more inclined to use Alexander-Arnold as a wing-back or even in central midfield than in his recognised position.
