Gareth Southgate’s latest comments suggest he misunderstands just how good Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold truly is.
Gareth Southgate moved to explain why Trent Alexander-Arnold didn’t make his England squad to face Germany this week. The Liverpool right-back appears to be a distant fourth-choice in his position, behind Reece James, Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier.
“Against Germany we selected the squad because of the way we went with the team so we needed [Ben] Chilwell on the bench and we had Kieran who, at the moment, I feel his all round game is ahead [of Alexander-Arnold],” he said, per the Mirror.
This feels like a bizarre comment for a few reasons. First and foremost, why is ‘all round game’ the important factor with a substitute? Even if you believe Trippier is the better option as an overall player, he’s not good enough to get ahead of James, presumably because James’s all around game is superior.
You’ve picked a sub, then, who can’t change the game – only offer cover in case James is injured. It seems like a bizarre choice over Alexander-Arnold, who is unquestionably the best attacking full-back on the planet. He’s someone who can undoubtedly change a game.
As Sky Sports point out, only Kevin De Bruyne has more assists or created more chances in the Premier League since the last World Cup. Alexander-Arnold is also the record-holder for assists by a defender, of course – a record he’s broken twice.
How good Trent Alexander-Arnold actually is
But what about statistics this season? After all, Southgate’s comments surround current form, and there’s no question that Alexander-Arnold isn’t playing at his best right now. The thing is, that level is still higher than his rivals.
Statsbomb data on FBref shows that off. Alexander-Arnold is currently involved in creating around 4.50 shots per 90. Next highest is Trippier, with 2.71. When you take set pieces out of the equation, the difference is even starker.
Alexander-Arnold has contributed to 16 shots from open play in his Premier League minutes. That is one more than Trippier and James combined, despite playing 150 fewer minutes than the Newcastle United full-back.
There is little question that Alexander-Arnold is a magnificent attacking full-back. He’s a world-class talent and one of the few England players where that’s clear. Only, it’s said his defensive woes cancel out this attacking class.
But again, we don’t see how that’s true. The data shows Alexander-Arnold has won 50% of his duels against wingers this season, compared to James’s 60%. Trippier, however, has won one tackle in 10 duels – 10%. How, as Southgate says, is that a player with a better ‘all round’ game right now?
The argument doesn’t add up
You can argue that one-on-one duels are just one defensive metric and you’d be right. You can also point to last season, where Trippier had a much better success rate – but Southgate suggests his decision is purely based on ‘right now’. Trippier’s defensive game is stronger than Alexander-Arnold’s, but the difference is far, far less evident than even Southgate seems to think. We’re not talking about an elite defensive full-back here.
Why, then, does the defensive contributions being marginally different count for more than a much more significant offensive difference? That’s what doesn’t seem particularly clear, especially when England play with far more security than Liverpool do. They can cover Alexander-Arnold more than the Reds, with an extra centre-back (and natural right-back, in Walker) and two holding midfielders.
The only answer we can see is a complete misunderstanding of what Alexander-Arnold does. He is in no way this defensive liability that many claim him to be – Liverpool’s league-best defensive record in 2019, 2020 and 2022 is a testament to that. He’s also not playing at a significantly worse defensive level right now.
The blindspot to his attacking contributions is a confusing one – perhaps Southgate simply doesn’t see it.
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