Former England international Chris Sutton believes that Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate must start Liverpool right back Trent Alexander-Arnold against Montenegro on Thursday.
The 21-year-old was bizarrely excluded from England’s two fixtures during the last international break, but Sutton is adamant that he must get the nod over Kieran Trippier on Thursday.
“Alexander-Arnold is clearly in form and flying for his club, so use him,” he wrote in his Daily Mail column. “Does Southgate think he is too gung-ho? I don’t think that would be a particularly fair assessment.
“Alexander-Arnold is lethal going forward but competent at the back, too. Alexander-Arnold has played every minute of Liverpool’s Premier League campaign, so he might be in need of a break, but I’m glad Gareth seems to have seen sense and opted to start him on Thursday night.”
OPINION
It was shocking, really, that Alexander-Arnold failed to start either of England’s games over the last international break. You wonder whether Southgate was purposely giving him a rest given all the football he has played over the last couple of years, but it was still bizarre to see Trippier preferred to him. Yes, the 29-year-old has made a fine start to life with Atletico Madrid, but even then his form still pales in comparison to the Liverpool ace. The knock on Alexander-Arnold is, as Sutton says, that he is too cavalier bombing forward down the right flank. However, when you compare his and Trippier’s defensive statistics this campaign, it is the younger man who comes out on top. As per WhoScored.com, Alexander-Arnold beats out the former Tottenham Hotspur man in average interceptions, blocks and clearances per game, while he is fouling opponents less often and catching them offside more frequently. Plus, his average WhoScored rating per outing this season of 7.36 is superior to Trippier’s 7.15. With that said, he must get the nod on Thursday night.
