Manchester United icon Roy Keane has criticized England manager Gareth Southgate for deploying Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield. According to Keane, the natural right-back has not held his own out of possession and is putting a dent in Declan Rice’s natural game.
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp deployed Alexander-Arnold in midfield a few times in the 2023-24 season. The England international impressed onlookers with his distribution skills, making the case for himself to be a regular in the middle of the park. Klopp, however, refused to play him out of position for long and reinstated him in right-back.
Southgate, meanwhile, has taken a gamble on Alexander-Arnold by playing him as a pivot in EURO 2024, and as per Keane, the experiment has not worked.
Roy Keane Delivers Scathing Assessment Of Liverpool Ace Trent Alexander-Arnold’s EURO 2024 Performance
The former Premier League midfielder believes that while the 25-year-old is excellent on the ball, he has not held his own off it.
Speaking on ITV after England’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Denmark, the Manchester United legend said (via Football365):
“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.
“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.”
Keane also explained how Alexander-Arnold’s lack of expertise has hurt Declan Rice.
He added:
“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 has subbed Alexander-Arnold off in both EURO 2024 matches so far. Against Serbia, the Liverpool defender came off the pitch in the 69th minute, after failing to create even a single chance. Meanwhile, against Denmark, he lasted for only 54 minutes.
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