Ian Wright has now shared whether he thinks Gareth Southgate will drop Trent Alexander-Arnold after England 1-0 Serbia.
The Liverpool No.66 was selected to start in midfield alongside Declan Rice as the Three Lions got their UEFA EURO 2024 campaign off to a winning start in Gelsenkirchen.
In truth, it was a surprise to see the 53-year-old make that call in the first place, seeing as the England boss has rarely picked the 25-year-old to play at right-back during his hugely successful time in that area for Liverpool, let alone in his newer midfield role.
So, does Ian Wright think Gareth Southgate will keep Trent Alexander-Arnold in his starting XI? Let’s take a look…
What Ian Wright said about Trent Alexander-Arnold after England 1-0 Serbia
The 60-year-old is not expecting Southgate to drop Alexander-Arnold for Thursday’s clash against Denmark.
Speaking on the Wrighty’s House podcast after Sunday’s 1-0 win, Wright said: “I think if he abandons it now, where else is there for Trent? Are we blaming Trent for not getting the memo properly or not understanding the brief?
“Or do we blame Gareth, because for me Trent should be a lot deeper getting the ball. You can’t abandon it now because all of the focus comes ‘oh Trent has been dropped’. I think he probably plays the same team.”
Gareth Southgate has to keep Liverpool No.66 involved
In our view, we can’t quite understand why this is even a debate after just one UEFA EURO 2024 game so far.
Aside from a clumsy touch which almost allowed Aleksandr Mitrovic to score, Alexander-Arnold impressed against Serbia, with one smart interception and pass putting Kyle Walker in on goal, where the Manchester City No.2 really should have scored or picked out a teammate.
SofaScore shows that the Liverpool academy graduate completed 37 of his attempted 42 passes at a success rate of 88% – while also taking 60 touches.
Defensively, Alexander-Arnold contributed two interceptions, one clearance and one tackle before Conor Gallagher replaced him in the 69th minute – so overall, it was a very tidy display.
Southgate sounded very happy with his performance too, so it really would be a huge shock if the Liverpool star ended up being dropped.
One thing we would say is that we feel the man from West Derby could be more effective in a sitting role just ahead of the backline, similar to how Germany deploy Toni Kroos, given his superb range of passing.
READ MORE: Alan Shearer delivers his honest verdict on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s display for England vs Serbia
Nevertheless, Alexander-Arnold still did a tremendous job, and question marks over his place in the starting XI are truly baffling after just one game.