Paul Merson has made a “petrified” claim involving Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold and England manager Gareth Southgate.
The Reds full-back is part of the 26-man squad that has travelled to Qatar for the World Cup. England’s first match is against Iran on Monday, with speculation continuing to circulate as to who Southgate will select in his line-up.
As well as Alexander-Arnold, England have other right-back options at their disposal. Southgate has also included Newcastle United’s Kieran Trippier and Manchester City’s Kyle Walker as part of the squad.
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Merson has argued why he thinks that Alexander-Arnold should get the nod in the line-up to face Iran on Monday. However, the former Arsenal star has claimed why he thinks Southgate will not select the Liverpool full-back.
“Kieran Trippier is an outstanding footballer but there are horses for courses. I would play Trent Alexander-Arnold in all of England's group games,” Merson told the Daily Star .
“He's the best passer of the ball in the country, so why not use him? We've seen how quickly players can get injured, so Iran could be the perfect game to utilise his quality and get him into the side.
“Gareth Southgate won't play that way, he will select Trippier because he will be petrified that if Alexander-Arnold does well, he will have to keep him in the team.”
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