Trent Alexander-Arnold has admitted to having sympathy for Gareth Southgate and the challenging selection decisions he faces whenever picking an England squad.
Alexander-Arnold has often been a talking point when Southgate submits his players for friendly matches or international tournaments, often overlooking the Liverpool right-back in favour of others such as Reece James and Kieran Trippier.
Continuing to snub the Reds’ right-back has led to suggestions Southgate is ‘anti-Trent’, claims the Three Lions’ boss has reportedly been left bemused by, and it remains to be seen whether the 25-year-old will have forced his way into the thinking of the England boss ahead of the Euros this summer.
Attempting to find a way to fit Alexander-Arnold into his starting eleven, Southgate trialled the defender in a midfield role in a friendly versus Andorra in September 2021, resulting in Jurgen Klopp posing the following question at the time: “Why would you make the best right-back in the world a midfielder?”
Despite playing only a total of 112 minutes for his country at the last two World Cups, Alexander-Arnold is refusing to view his situation at international level as a negative and believes much of his misfortune is simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“I think a lot of it comes down to timing,” he conceded. “In a different era and different generation, I’d have played much more for my country. However, I’m a firm believer in my own ability, what I bring to a team and what I can do on a football pitch. I still believe I’ve got a big role to play with England, to go and help the team win silverware – whether I play every minute of a tournament or I play no minutes at all in a tournament.
“I fully understand that decisions have to be made and I’ll never throw my toys out the pram. I feel like I’ve enjoyed the good side of it at club level, as someone who knows he’s going to play most games, and I’ve got that trust in the manager. I’m fortunate enough to not have to think about that too much at Liverpool and just go and perform.”
Refusing to dwell on the past or allow future decisions that will be taken by Southgate to become personal, Liverpool’s No.66 has recognised managers will be scrutinised whoever they select and does not envy this responsibility.
“No matter what, no matter how the news is presented to you, it’s always disappointing when you’re told you’re not in the squad or you’re not in the team,” Alexander-Arnold told FourFourTwo. “But I’m someone who’s very rational around those kinds of things. I know how difficult it must be. You’ve got so many options, so many decisions to make, and I”ll never hold it against a manager for making that decision.
“Every player thinks they should start. It’s natural. You think ‘I can win games and I can help the team’. You believe you’re good enough and you need that belief. So no matter what, no matter who you pick, you’re always making the wrong decision – it’s a lose-lose situation.
“When I was younger, I dreamt of being able to play for my country, to win trophies for my country, to be part of England teams that win titles. I’ve still got those ambitions, and every time I’m able to wear the shirt, words don’t really describe it.”