How Liverpool star rewrote his England narrative ahead of Euro 2024 'start' thanks to Gareth Southgate vision


Trent Alexander-Arnold is currently ‘set’ to start for England in the opening Euro 2024 game, with the Liverpool star having completely rewritten the narrative about his position.
England face Serbia in their opening group game on June 16 and the latest report from The Telegraph’s Matt Law has claimed Alexander-Arnold is set to start alongside Arsenal’s Declan Rice in midfield. In months gone by, not many would have had him down to start but the past few weeks have seen the Liverpool defender earn true momentum at exactly the right time, so how did he do it?
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Hide AdGareth Southgate’s vision
Over the past year, Southgate has looked to install Alexander-Arnold in midfield for England. Given they possess the likes of Kyle Walker, Reece James and Kieran Trippier in the right-back area, it didn’t make sense to group the Liverpool star in that trio. Instead, moving him into midfield has always been the plan as a player with his quality simply cannot be left out.
We saw him trust him in midfield in games where England had the lions share of the possession against, with all due respect, inferior opposition. A goal and assist in back-to-back games against Malta and North Macedonia proved he can work for England but a test against a step-up in class would be needed to see if it can actually work when it matters.
Thrown in midfield against Bosnia, he proved he can be the metronome even if he was moved back to right-back in the second half. England were slow in general as Southgate rung the changes and it was the first friendly for a few months. Yet, he managed the most chances created, most crosses, most passes and the most long balls.
His new role on the big stage
Next to someone as tireless and consistent as Rice, he can certainly play with an air of freedom and confidence which can help get the best out of his qualities. The license to play is so important as international football is often decided by moments of magic - something which are fairly commonplace for a player described as ‘sensational’ over the past week by Cafu.
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Hide AdBacked by a dependable back four behind him - as well as Kyle Walker at right-back - Alexander-Arnold has protection all around him to help ease those concerns over his defensive issues. Granted, there are concerns going into a major competition as he hasn’t yet performed in this role at this level with this type of pressure but there is no reason why he can’t succeed.
Adam Wharton, Conor Gallagher and Kobbie Mainoo could yet be selected over him, or Jude Bellingham could be tasked with a deeper role. Yet, given Alexander-Arnold is fit, firing and has momentum on his side, he could be awarded a starting place and he could begin a new chapter in his career that resonates back to club level in the future.
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