England returned to winning ways on Sunday against Finland, with Trent Alexander-Arnold playing a new position for the Three Lions.
The Liverpool defender started at left-back with Alexander-Arnold having a good game in Helsinki, with the fullback becoming the first Red since John Barnes to score a free-kick for England with a fine dead-ball effort in the second-half.
With the English media impressed with Alexander-Arnold’s performance in a new position, the Liverpool fullback could be about to have another stretch in the Three Lions starting XI away from his favoured right-back role.
Yet Micah Richards has said one Manchester City player wasn’t helping Alexander-Arnold in the new position.
Kyle Walker didn’t click with Alexander-Arnold as a fullback partner
Speaking on the Rest is Football, the pundit noted how Kyle Walker would continue to overlap from the right-back position even when Alexander-Arnold was inverted in England’s midfield, with the City star not fully clicking with the Liverpool man on the opposite flank.
With Alexander-Arnold exposed at some moments for England, the veteran right-back will need to learn to play with his Liverpool counterpart if this fullback pairing is to continue in the next international break, something that is likely if Lee Carsly is still in charge.
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Richards said: “I was watching it from a full-back’s point of view and I was thinking at times I can see it because he just basically went into midfield, but at times Kyle Walker was overlapping as well, so you sort of left Trent a little bit exposed in positions where he can be got at a little bit.
“If he’s going to play full-back and left-back on the wrong side, you have got to be able to make sure Kyle Walker stays and he goes into midfield as soon as possible so he doesn’t get as exposed as he did at times in the game.”
England need to learn to trust Alexander-Arnold at right-back
A good argument can be made that Alexander-Arnold has been the most underutilised player in the England set-up for the past six years, with the defender only having a few moments where he has been allowed to shine.
And this latest stunt from the Three Lions goes to show that Alexander-Arnold is not trusted yet at playing in the right-back position despite being the best option out there for England, even with Walker now available.
Indeed, Alexander-Arnold is England’s main creative spark when playing at right-back, and the next international break should see the defender return to his best position given how effective the 25-year-old can be in the role.
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