Former Manchester City full-back Micah Richards has explained why Gareth Southgate’s high-profile omission of Trent Alexander-Arnold from the latest England squad came as no great shock to him.
Alexander-Arnold has struggled for form this season in a malfunctioning Liverpool side, feeling the mental and physical effects of a draining campaign.
His performances have picked up of late but not enough, according to Southgate, to merit a place in the England team for the upcoming friendlies against San Marino, Albania, and Poland.
The 22-year-0ld has fallen down the pecking order in the manager’s eyes, with Reece James, Kyle Walker, and Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier all being selected ahead of him. “I don’t think he has played at the level that he found in the last couple of years,” Southgate said earlier this week.
Richards, a prominent Sky Sports pundit, feels there is more to it than that, citing inherent distrust in the Liverpool man’s defensive capabilities.
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“I was initially shocked when I didn’t see Alexander-Arnold’s name on the list,” he said in his column for Mail Online.
“Part of me, though, wasn’t totally surprised as it felt for some time that Southgate isn’t quite sure about him.”
Despite this, the full-back maintains his belief that Alexander-Arnold is a world-class talent, and feels Southgate has made a costly error in axing him so close to this summer’s European Championships.
“I’ve said on many occasions that I’m a big admirer of Southgate,” she said. “He’s been brilliant for England, he’s an approachable and fair man.
“However, I believe Trent is one of the best attacking right backs in the business and would be in my squad every time.
“What it says to me is that there is an issue of trust. Southgate can’t have faith in Alexander-Arnold to do what he wants him to do and, if that is the case, then I find it hard to see how the young Liverpool star plays at the Euros.”
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