Jack Wilshere was impressed by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s display against Serbia (Picture: Getty)
Jack Wilshere believes Trent Alexander-Arnold passed his central midfield ‘audition’ in England’s 1-0 win over Serbia and encouraged Gareth Southgate to persist with the Liverpool star in the role.
Having impressed Southgate in England’s Euro 2024 warm-up fixtures, Alexander-Arnold was rewarded with a starting berth alongside Declan Rice in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday.
The Liverpool midfield impressed in flashes during England’s controlled first-half display but was brought off for the more dogged Conor Gallagher as a resurgent Serbia came on strong towards the end of the game.
While the jury may still be out on the 25-year-old in this central role, former Arsenal and England midfielder Wilshere believes Alexader-Arnold did enough to earn another start against Denmark on Thursday.
‘I think he passed it [his audition] and deserves another chance to show all the qualities that he can bring to the role., Wilshere said in his column for the Sun.
‘Trent’s positioning was good and he made some good interceptions. I think he can — and should — hold on to the ball a bit more, draw the pressure, and then play the ball forward.
‘As the game opens up, Trent is a player who can pick the right pass. Especially in transition, like he did with a lovely one down the side for Saka in the first half and another early in the second.
Alexander-Arnold impressed in flashes on Sunday (Picture: Getty)
‘I believe it is something Southgate should persist with. He is more than intelligent enough to work it out. And as the tournament goes on, I’m sure he will be fine in there.’
Southgate, meanwhile, praised Alexander-Arnold’s display and backed him to only get better as the tournament progressed.
‘Trent had to cover a lot of spaces, and showed great discipline plus the fabulous passing range he has,’ he said. ‘He’s learning a lot and we’re learning with him, but it’s great to see him making an impact in there.’
Speaking after the game, Alexander-Arnold revealed his new midfield role for England had been a long time in the making.
‘I felt prepared through the conversations and the work we’ve done throughout the week,’ he told ITV.
‘It may seem brand new (to many), but me, the manager and Steve Holland, we’ve been working very hard on this role for the past year so a lot of preparation has gone into it.’
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