Bukayo Saka might have taken home the match-ball for his hat-trick against North Macedonia at Old Trafford on Monday night, but Liverpool defender-turned-midfielder Trent Alexander-Arnold once again impressed during this latest international break.
Even after shining in his new-found hybrid role at Anfield and beyond, there was shock to see his named inked in next to the No.10 shirt on the England team sheet before they swept aside Malta on Friday night. However, it was no such surprise to see him re-make his mark across 180 minutes.
Picking up a more advanced position still than his recent Liverpool change, Alexander-Arnold was among the star performers in Valletta and, just over 72 hours later, the club's Academy graduate was at it once again with another composed and stylish showing in the engine room.
It was enough to get Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and even former Chelsea captain John Terry purring as they watched the current crop routinely dispose admittedly limited opposition. Even so, while those three were able to read between the lines anyway, Alexander-Arnold successfully played between them.
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With seven goals to feast on, Alexander-Arnold underlined what he brings to the table with a trademark assist to help Saka on his way to a hat-trick. Queue the high-profile response on social media.
No sooner than that goal flew in - England's fourth on the night - Liverpool hero Carragher tweeted: "Trent to Saka is becoming quite a combination." Terry followed up with his approval on the same platform.
In among the Saka chat, what Alexander-Arnold can offer club and country in central midfield was, also, discussed pre-match by the esteemed Channel 4 punditry team as Gerrard himself dusted off his suit to make an appearance at Old Trafford on Monday night.
He said: "When you are playing in games against Malta and playing against another team [North Macedonia] who play with a compact block, Trent [Alexander-Arnold] is someone who can unlock the door at any given moment as he has such a good range of passing.
"I think that he has got big belief and confidence from Jurgen Klopp in this role and it's very interesting to see that Gareth [Southgate] has followed up and given him an opportunity in there. But what Trent has done is he has gone out and backed that up. I thought he was man-of-the-match on Friday night.
"He has been playing with confidence and that defensive responsibility has been taken away from him because he was under pressure and there was a lot of spotlight on him in that role."
By default, Alexander-Arnold might not have been named man-of-the-match against North Macedonia on Monday night. After being ignored for England for so long, though, he's arguably their man-of-the-moment.
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