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Paul Scholes makes 'obsessed' claim about Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold

Trent Alexander Arnold in action for England
-Credit: (Image: Photo by Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images)


Paul Scholes has reacted to Gareth Southgate's reported decision to drop Trent Alexander-Arnold in place of Conor Gallagher for England.

The Three Lions play their final group game at Euro 2024 on Tuesday as they take on Slovenia in Cologne. England are guaranteed a place in the last 16, but disappointing performances against Serbia and Denmark have put the pressure on Southgate's side.

Liverpool's Alexander-Arnold has played in midfield during England's two other group games but struggled to make an impact in the 1-1 draw against Denmark on Thursday. And the England boss has reportedly responded by deciding to drop the Reds full-back in place of Chelsea midfielder Connor Gallagher.

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Now, Manchester United and England legend Scholes has reacted to the news on social media. "Why are we obsessed with energy when we should be obsessed with the brain," he said on Instagram ahead of Tuesday's game.

The former midfielder may also be referencing the limited game time of United star Kobbie Mainoo who did not feature last time out against the Danes.

Speaking about England's midfield problems after the Denmark game, Southgate said: “We have been trying to find a solution in midfield for seven or eight years. If we hadn't had Declan Rice, I don't know where we'd have been.

“Unfortunately, Kalvin (Phillips) wasn’t a possible for us for this tournament and Hendo (Jordan Henderson) the same, so we're trying to find something different.

“Some of that has worked, some of that hasn't worked so well - but over the years that's been a consistent problem we've tried to find the best way of solving and we've got to do that in the coming weeks as well.

“One of our biggest problems was we weren’t pressing well enough as a team, so Trent had all sorts of problems to solve without the ball - and most of the time he did really, really well.

“But clearly you're going to see different pictures when you’re in there every week. He’s had moments where he's played the passes that we thought he could. I understand, you're always going to ask me about individuals, but the team didn't function today. That's my responsibility.”