England international Callum Wilson has weighed in on the Trent Alexander-Arnold debate. The Newcastle man wants him starting for England.
There has been plenty of discussion around Trent Alexander-Arnold this week. Gareth Southgate left the Liverpool star out of his squad to face Germany on Monday, prompting discussion about why.
The consensus is that Alexander-Arnold is such a weak defender that it cancels out what he can do going forward. Southgate hinted at that, too, as he talked about Kieran Trippier’s ‘all round’ game being better right now.
Callum Wilson, though, who played for England under Southgate, doesn’t understand the problem. He ‘couldn’t care’ if Alexander-Arnold struggles defensively, such is his quality going forward.
“For me as a striker, I couldn’t care less if a right-back as good as him going forward couldn’t defend or not,” he told the Footballer’s Football Podcast. “If he’s putting assists and crosses in the box like that, I don’t care.
“You can let two goals in, but he’s going to set up three or four at the other end. Do you know what I mean? For me, that’s goals. I’m going off who can attack the best, I don’t care who defends.
“But that’s me being an attack-minded coach.”
The Trent Alexander-Arnold debate
It’s actually refreshing to hear Wilson’s take here. The one side of the debate that isn’t talked about is why defensive work counts for so much more than what a player offers going forward.
Alexander-Arnold offers more going forward than any English full-back in history. That’s not even a question – it’s an outright fact. He offers more going forward than most English players full-stop and only Kevin De Bruyne has more Premier League assists than him since the last World Cup.
And given that Liverpool are clear proof that you can win the biggest trophies – and keep the tightest defence – with Alexander-Arnold in the side, why aren’t his attacking qualities at the forefront here?
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