Steven Gerrard has insisted that Trent Alexander-Arnold is still England’s best right-back despite being dropped for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Alexander-Arnold made his debut for Liverpool during the 2016/17 season. He played 12 times that term as he played second fiddle to fellow Englishman Nathaniel Clyne.
But the younster established himself as their new first-choice right-back the year after as he made 33 appearances during the 2017/18 term.
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The defender came into his own between 2018 and 2020. He was one of their chief creative forces as they won the Champions League and Premier League.
During this time, he broke into the England team and he has been capped 12 times since he made his debut in 2018.
But along with Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold’s form has dipped this season. This led to him dropping out of Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad for their three World Cup qualifiers over the next two weeks.
Reece James, Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier have been favoured ahead of Alexander-Arnold. Gerrard told The Athletic that England have some “fantastic” right-backs, but Alexander-Arnold is the best of the lot:
“One thing’s for sure, I’ll always be there for Trent. It goes without saying, any second of the day. I wouldn’t make the first move. He’s a man himself. He knows where he’s at.
“Gareth Southgate makes the decisions there. I don’t necessarily agree with that decision. But I’m not the England manager. I think Trent is the best English right-back in the country.
“One thing I’ve learned from being a player is you can’t always be 10 out of 10. When you do come off, you need that support, love and attention from your manager more than anyone else. So, I was surprised by the decision but that’s my opinion and my opinion is not important in this.
“Trent is a world-class right-back, he’s the best right-back the country has got. We’ve got other fantastic right-backs by the way. But in terms of the loaded side of the question, I’m there for Trent and any of the other Liverpool players at any moment of the day.”
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