'Don't know whether you noticed': Gary Lineker amazed by another Trent Alexander-Arnold moment in England win
09/08/2024 01:15 PM
Trent Alexander-Arnold was rightly receiving a lot of plaudits for the pass the Liverpool star played which led to England’s opening goal in their Nations League victory over Republic of Ireland on Saturday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was one of the players who had a bit of a point to prove in Lee Carsley’s first game in charge after the 25-year-old endured a difficult time at Euro 2024. Gareth Southgate initially tried Alexander-Arnold in the middle of the park to ensure that his quality was utilised. However, as England toiled in the early stages, Alexander-Arnold lost his place in the side.
Alexander-Arnold managed to impress Arne Slot with his fitness in the summer. And he has more than played his part in Liverpool making a flawless start to the new Premier League season, with three wins from three and no goals conceded.
With Kyle Walker not in the England squad, Alexander-Arnold got the chance to start for the Three Lions in Dublin this weekend – and he made the most of the opportunity. Of course, it was his stunning pass which set Anthony Gordon through in the 11th minute, and that chance resulted in Declan Rice finding the top corner and putting the visitors in front.
Gary Lineker amazed by another Trent Alexander-Arnold moment in England win
Unsurprisingly, Gary Lineker was full of praise for that pass from Alexander-Arnold on The Rest is Football, but he also suggested that there was another moment which blew him away – and may have gone slightly under the radar.
“The other thing that perhaps we’ve not really seen with England in the last few years is that when Trent did do that thing that right-backs or full-backs do now where he turned into an inverted, whatever you want to call it, but he turned into a midfield player at times, his passing range is truly extraordinary,” he said.
“I don’t know whether you noticed it, but he actually hit a pass in the first minute of the game that was like, ‘wow’, it was incredible.”
An important challenge for the next permanent England manager
It should also be noted that Harry Kane should have headed home a brilliant early cross from Alexander-Arnold. It was a poor miss from the Bayern Munich star.
England will face tougher tests than Ireland, and they were certainly not perfect. But the result arguably showed why Southgate’s permanent successor simply has to find a way to fit Alexander-Arnold into the side. He is a defender with 100 goal contributions during his Liverpool career – that is a special return for someone who may not yet be at their peak.
Perhaps his defending is still a weakness, but it would be naive to pretend that the modern full-back is as focused on stopping opposition wingers as they once were anyway. And what Alexander-Arnold offers at the other end of the pitch more than makes up for any problems he has defensively.
