Trent Alexander-Arnold has been at the centre of the media frenzy concerning Gareth Southgate’s final squad selection for this summer’s European Championships.
There were countless reports that Alexander-Arnold would miss out on the chance to represent his country this summer with Reece James, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker making up a strong cohort for the right-side of defence.
However, after much speculation, the England manager decided on selecting all four right-backs in his final squad, leaving many questioning the need for so many defensive reinforcements.
Nevertheless, Southgate hinted that all four players could be used in various positions, with their versatility being invaluable. Southgate specifically suggested a role in midfield for Alexander-Arnold.
In order to test the viability of Alexander-Arnold as a central option, we simulated last season on Football Manager 2021, with the young scouser at the heart of Liverpool’s midfield. We then compared Alexander-Arnold’s performances to his real life achievements and to his England midfield teammates.
Trent Alexander Arnold’s personal performances
The first consideration when moving Alexander-Arnold into midfield was to decide what type of player he would be. When analysing his statistics both in real-life and in Football Manager, it was clear that a box-to-box role was most fitting for the 22-year-old.
As well as being the most fitting for Alexander-Arnold himself, it is the role England would require him to play as it is an area of weakness in Southgate’s squad. Many of England’s midfielders are either attacking or defensive, not both.
In terms of output, Alexander-Arnold contributed just two goals and four assists in 31 games for Liverpool.
This is slightly lower than the two goals and seven assists that he actually achieved last season and is even further down on the four goals and 14 assists he achieved two seasons ago.
However, the Liverpool youngster did provide two notable performances with a man of the match performance against Wolves and a late equaliser against Everton in the Merseyside derby.
The 85% pass accuracy achieved by Alexander-Arnold in the match against Wolves puts him just behind England’s regular midfielders Jordan Henderson and Declan Rice, who averaged 87% and 88%. Meanwhile, it matched the 85% pass accuracy of youngster Jude Bellingham who looks set to break into Southgate’s midfield.
This level of ball retention suggests a capability to adapt to a midfield role and achieve the levels of those competing against him for a starting place in Southgate’s XI.
Whilst, in reality, this season has been shown a drop in standards from Alexander-Arnold, during the simulation, he secured himself a place in the Premier League team of the season as a midfielder.
This highlights the consistency shown throughout the simulated season and suggests a capacity to perform from the centre of the pitch, even if the number of goals and assists are not as outlandish as years gone by.
Alexander-Arnold’s performances last season were erratic with previous high levels attainted at times but new lows also reached. This culminated in Southgate dropping the right-back from his squad for the World Cup qualifiers back in March.
However, the young scouser’s performances since then have really excelled with match winning moments against both Aston Villa and West Brom as well as a man of the match performance at Old Trafford. This upturn in form is what has caused such a dilemma for Southgate.
Overall, the simulation indicated that Southgate could utilise Alexander-Arnold’s talents in the centre of the pitch and still allow him to achieve high-level performances.
However, surely a more effective tactic would be to play to the player’s strengths and allow him to produce world-class numbers from a defensive position rather than potentially losing his impetus by playing him centrally.
Whatever decision Southgate makes will likely impact England’s chances at the Euro’s, but ultimately, he has already made his first correct one by including Alexander-Arnold in the squad. It is now up to both the player and the manager to produces performances England fans expect.
Brandon Russell: Sports News 