Trent Alexander-Arnold was subbed off after 54 minutes against Denmark (Photo: Getty)
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s experiment in midfield has failed, Roy Keane has declared, saying the England star was ‘found out’ in the draw with Denmark.
England’s lacklustre Euro 2024 campaign continued on Thursday with a dismal 1-1 draw with Denmark in Frankfurt.
Few players came away from the game with any credit, with Alexander-Arnold once again struggling in his new midfield role.
Though the Liverpool right-back created more chances than anyone else, he was hauled off in the 54 minutes for Conor Gallagher, with the Three Lions once again looking disjointed, unsure of themselves and defensively frail.
The early substitution seems to have interpreted as an admission by Southgate that his experiment with the 25-year-old hasn’t worked.
‘When you’ve been taken off in the two games that’s not a good sign,’ former Manchester United and Ireland star Keane told ITV.
‘I thought it was always a huge gamble to play a player who doesn’t play that position week-in week-out for his club. I know people say he drifts in there for Liverpool, but drifting into a position and staying there and starting are two completely different things.
Right-back Alexander Arnold hasn’t adapted to midfield (Photo: Getty)
‘I’ve played midfield, it’s a tough position, physically, getting your distances and he’s come up short in the two games.
It’s not all down to him, you’d have to put this on Gareth. It’s a huge gamble to throw a full-back into the middle of the park.
‘And this was against two teams that you would have thought England would be comfortable and have lots of possession. It was a big ask for him and he’s not up to it.’
Conor Gallagher came on for Alexander-Arnold. Should he start against Slovenia (Photo: Getty)
We talk about football in what you do in possession, it’s really important what you do out of possession and that’s why he’s been thrown in the deep end.
‘Okay he’s going to be comfortable on the ball and if you give him time he can see a pass, there’s no doubting that. But it’s the other bits of his game, the distances.
‘Rice feels like he’s babysitting him in there and you can’t do that at this level, you will be found out. And he has.’
Southgate will have to make a big decision regarding Alexander-Arnold ahead of the final Group C game against Slovenia next Tuesday.
Asked about his performance against Denmark, the manager said: ‘He’s had some moments where he’s delivered what we thought he would. We know it’s an experiment.
‘We know we don’t have a natural replacement for Kalvin Philips. We’re trying different things and at the moment we’re not flowing as we’d like.’
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