Trent Alexander-Arnold deserves better - and Gareth Southgate knows it

Trent Alexander-Arnold might have been pleasantly surprised to find himself starting England's first two Euro 2024 games. Not because he doesn't back his own ability, but because he has so often been on the periphery under Gareth Southgate.

But those of a Liverpool persuasion probably always suspected it would quickly go south. Within two matches, Alexander-Arnold has become a scapegoat not only for the England supporters, but also for Southgate to a certain degree — and the boss must realize that the Anfield star deserves far better.

Southgate had already created a rod for his own back by always using Alexander-Arnold so sparingly, which has meant that there is a media circus whenever he is selected. But by using him in an unfamiliar midfield role at the Euros alongside Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice, the England manager has magnified scrutiny tenfold.

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After all, publicly at least, this dalliance with the midfield idea is pretty last-minute. Southgate has often flirted with the notion amid the surplus of world-class English right-backs, but the decision to really commit to Alexander-Arnold as a starter in the engine room was only truly born in the final round of warm-up fixtures.

Southgate has said that England has been working on it with Alexander-Arnold behind the scenes for some time, and that may be so. But that then begs the question of why the manager himself seems so lukewarm on the experiment.

Twice now at the Euros, he has hooked Alexander-Arnold off for Conor Gallagher, doing so after 10 minutes of the restart against Denmark. For someone who has often espoused his game-changing qualities, Southgate doesn't seem to have the genuine belief that the Liverpool star is genuinely a generational talent capable of unlocking defenses and ultimately making a telling impact on the tournament.

Liverpool, of course, knows that's exactly what he is. But Southgate gave the game away with his comments after the Denmark game. "We know it is an experiment and we don't have a natural replacement for Kalvin Phillips," Southgate bizarrely stated, via the Mail. "But we're trying some different things and at the moment we're not flowing as we'd like, that's for sure."

The England manager clearly knows he is inhibiting Alexander-Arnold if he is viewing him as some kind of unorthodox stand-in for Kalvin Phillips. Even at his best, the Manchester City flop was tireless and dogged rather than technically superb, and throwing the Liverpool man in to perform an even vaguely similar function is just setting him up to fail.

Alexander-Arnold has actually performed his defensive duties quite well for the most part, obediently sacrificing himself for the good of the team. But in doing that, he has been unable to fully show the qualities that make him a must-pick in the first place.

You would think that Southgate, as the one giving the instructions, would understand this. And yet by repeatedly hooking Alexander-Arnold off, he is showing that he somehow also expects him to be that game-changing, creative presence — and if he can't perform this juggling act within an hour or less, then his chance is up.

He's thrown the Liverpool star into a constant cycle of snubs and heavy scrutiny. There's no doubt about it: Alexander-Arnold deserves far better.