Gareth Southgate delivers telling verdict on Trent Alexander-Arnold's midfield performance

Gareth Southgate has passed his verdict on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s performance for England against Serbia, following the criticism leveled at the Liverpool star before the game.

The Reds vice-captain was given the nod to start in midfield for the Three Lions’ opener at Euro 2024. Although it’s a position he has played before for his country, and one that he has been used in more for his club over the past 12 months, the selection was deemed controversial by some pundits.

Former Manchester United stars Roy Keane and Wayne Rooney both rallied against the idea of Alexander-Arnold in midfield, with the former insisting he would be ‘ripped to shreds’ later in the tournament.

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In his first outing in Germany though, Alexander-Arnold produced a solid display, albeit with room for improvement. England boss Southgate seemed relatively pleased with his output, hailing his ability to play alongside Jude Bellingham, who scored the winner in the first-half.

"He's been really diligent in getting his positioning right," Southgate said live on the BBC at the final whistle. "Jude Bellingham goes forward a lot and Trent adapted and adjusted to his position really well.

“He used the ball well and had a really good effort on goal. In the end, we wanted fresh legs there. We've got a squad and we need to use it."

Liverpool.com says: That’s a fair assessment from Southgate. It’s telling that he mentioned Bellingham in his appraisal of Alexander-Arnold, with the Liverpool man clearly building a good relationship with the Real Madrid star.

Overall, Alexander-Arnold’s performance was decent enough, and there is room for improvement in there, which every Liverpool fan will know he’s capable of. It certainly wasn’t the disaster that Keane and Rooney were predicting with their ridiculous comments.

Alexander-Arnold has shown enough to suggest he will be comfortable if he continues in midfield for England during the tournament. Hopefully he does, and shoves that earlier criticism down some people’s throats.