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![Sports Gareth Southgate, Manager of England, greets Trent Alexander-Arnold of England as he arrives at St George's Park on October 09, 2023 in Burton upon Trent, England.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/X2VyL5MfbVxpVwSLnAyPJ4.jpg)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s place in Gareth Southgate’s England team is determined to remain an unknown till at least June when the team play two Euro 2024 warm-up matches against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iceland on June 3 and June 7.
The England manager has admitted he has been “frustrated” that Trent Alexander-Arnold is injured and therefore missing from his England squad this week as he wanted to play him in midfield as he figures out his handiest starting XI for the summer.
Alexander-Arnold picked up a knee damage loyal via Liverpool’s Third Spherical FA Cup victory at Arsenal in early January and looked to have shaken the damage off by early February. But he was withdrawn at half time of Liverpool’s 3-1 dwelling gather over Burnley and hasn’t played since.
VIDEO: Why I KNEW Transferring Into Liverpool’s Midfield Would Work
He is expected to approach to action after the international break, but he’s going to be aware he’s neglected an alternative to make a case for a starting role in England’s midfield, which is where he sees his future with the Three Lions.
“For England, I’d say I’m now a midfielder and that’s something that really excites me,” Alexander-Arnold completely instructed FourFourTwo. “It presents me the alternative to bag into the team. I deem if it’s working, then long time period I don’t look a reason to change that.”
Though Kyle Walker has withdrawn from the latest England squad as a result of damage, the Manchester Metropolis defender is expected to start at lawful back when England kick-off their Euro 2024 campaign. Alexander-Arnold therefore finds himself in ‘England limbo’: too legal to leave on the bench, but untried in midfield alongside the 2 other nailed on midfield starters: Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.
“My main focal level always has, and always will seemingly be, what I want to attain to assist the team gather the game. Whether or not that’s defensively or offensively, I’m prepared to attain that”, explains Alexander-Arnold when asked about how he approaches games as a midfielder.
“Folks will talk about the games where I’ve been able to dictate the play, but there have been matches where I’ve had to be extra defensively sound and not been able to bag on the ball. For me, it doesn’t matter. I desire to impact the game at both ends of the pitch.
“If the feeling of the match is that I’m not going to bag the ball too mighty and not be able to dictate issues, then you have to search out another way. If that means defensively doing your job as neatly as you can, stopping the attackers and getting a clean sheet, then I’ve helped the team to gather the game.”
If Alexander-Arnold is to start England’s opening Euro 2024 game vs Serbia on 16 June, it’s seemingly his role will have to be extra defensive, than offensive.
“I have loved the idea for a long time,” admitted Southgate this week when asked about Alexander-Arnold staring for England in midfield this summer. “But we are going to be trialing it when we have not viewed it in a really high-level game, so we can apt have to look where we can crawl along with it.”
Extra England and Euro 2024 reports
Euro 2024: Dates, fixtures, stadiums, tickets and every part you have to know
Quiz! Can you
name the last 50 nations England have played in friendlies?
The
handiest English midfielders ever
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