Trent Alexander-Arnold has been one of the most hotly-debated players of the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament.
England manager Gareth Southgate’s use, or lack therefore, of the 25-year-old Liverpool star has been controversial to say the least.
Preferring to use Kyle Walker at right back, Southgate started the tournament with Alexander-Arnold in a slightly unfamiliar role as one of two holding midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Like virtually all of his England teammates, Alexander-Arnold struggled to show the form he normally does at club level as England’s slow and disjointed displays drew plenty of criticism from fans and pundits.
As pressure from the public mounted on Southgate following two poor performances in their opening games against Serbia and Denmark, the Alexander-Arnold experiment was abandoned and he has subsequently only played 15 minutes in three games since being dropped.
Despite his England struggles, however, The Reds star was one of the players facing the media in a press conference ahead of England’s semi-final clash against the Netherlands on Wednesday.
Speaking to journalists, he name dropped the teammate who he classes as the best finisher he’s ever seen.
As a mainstay in the Liverpool team during Jurgen Klopp’s incredibly successful 9 years at Anfield, Alexander-Arnold provided the ammunition for one of the most prolific forward lines the English Premier League has ever seen.
Alongside the likes of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and of course, Mohamed Salah, Liverpool returned to the top of English and European football, winning the FA cup, the League Cup x2 as well as the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League.
However, it was England teammate and captain, Harry Kane, who Alexander-Arnold singled out as the best finisher he’s played with.
Speaking in defence of Kane, who has been roundly criticised for his performances in the tournament thus far, Alexander Arnold states that he has no doubts about his quality:
“I always say he [Kane] is the best finisher I have either seen or played with.
“He can find the back of the net from anywhere. All round, he’s a fantastic player.
“We are talking about England’s record goalscorer, so that is as big as anything you can say about him.
“He scores goals. He’s scored two in the tournament, helped us win games and then as our captain, as our leader, he is someone who leads by example.
“He puts everything into games, so whether or not he is getting criticised, people will always have opinions and people will always say things.
“But he is leading us into a semi-final on Wednesday, so he must be doing something right.”
That’s a huge vote of confidence in the Bayern Munich striker from a player who has seen his fair share of high quality goalscorers over the years.
England fans will be hoping that Kane can prove Trent right on Wednesday evening by firing The Three Lions to victory over the Dutch. And if Trent can get an assist for the winning goal, that’d put the icing on the cake.
