Leading pundits from Gary Lineker to Roy Keane have pushed hard for Trent Alexander-Arnold to be moved further afield into a midfield role in order to get the most out of his passing ability.
Taking a leaf out of their books, England boss Gareth Southgate opted for the experiment, handing the fullback a start in a new-look Three Lions midfield comprised of Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson and the 22-year-old.
There were flashes of brilliance on offer from the right-back, though, for the most part, he seemed to struggle to get as involved in proceedings as is usually the case in his favoured spot with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool outfit.
Predictably, a host of England fans were especially critical of the young fullback’s performance in the 4-0 World Cup Group Stage qualifier victory over Andorra on Twitter.
Realistically, we’d expect Southgate to pull the plug on the experiment after having witnessed Alexander-Arnold’s struggles this evening.
You can catch some of the fan reaction below, courtesy of ITV Football:
Woeful. No surprise though. Need to keep up the LFC quota for some reason.
— John Bougen (@JohnBougen) September 5, 2021
Woeful. No surprise though. Need to keep up the LFC quota for some reason.
— John Bougen (@JohnBougen) September 5, 2021
One trick pony great at crossing but awful at everything else.
— gameforfun (@goldengamer1962) September 5, 2021
I don’t see the fuss about TAA I’ve never seen him stand out yet and today wasn’t an exception
— Leon slater (@spick13) September 5, 2021
Rubbish!
— DAZZO5 (@Darren62621989) September 5, 2021