Roy Keane believes Trent Alexander-Arnold’s midfield experiment is not working

Roy Keane didn’t hold back when delivering his appraisal of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s performance in midfield during England’s 1-1 draw against Denmark, claiming the Liverpool star ‘is not up to’ playing in the centre of the pitch.

He also stated that Declan Rice, who equally underwhelmed in England’s Euro 2024 clash on Thursday night, had to babysit Alexander-Arnold in midfield.

Gareth Southgate has opted to start Alexander-Arnold in a more advanced position in both of England’s opening two matches and has substituted him for Conor Gallagher on both occasions.

Interestingly, Alexander-Arnold was the most creative of England’s midfielders on Thursday afternoon, completing 88 per cent of his passes while creating three chances for England, more than any other player on the pitch, according to Opta.

But Keane believes the right back’s experiment in midfield has been a disaster, with the ex-Man United star claiming Alexander-Arnold has ‘come up short’ in England’s opening matches.

“I always believed it was a significant risk to play him in a position he doesn’t regularly occupy for his club. Some say he occasionally moves into that role for Liverpool, but there’s a difference between occasionally drifting into a position and starting there.

“Having played in midfield myself, I know it’s a demanding position. Physically, you need to manage your distances… and he’s fallen short in the two games.

“This isn’t entirely his fault. Gareth Southgate has to take some responsibility. It’s a big risk to put a full-back in the center of the field. This wasn’t against top-tier teams like France or Spain, but against teams we expected England to comfortably dominate and control possession.

“It was a lot to ask of him, and he hasn’t met the challenge.”

After the match, Southgate oddly admitted that starting Alexander-Arnold in midfield was an ‘experiment’ because they couldn’t find a replacement for Kalvin Phillips.

However, Ian Wright defended the Liverpool star, arguing that he had limited options ahead of him as England’s forwards struggled to create opportunities in the final third.

“If you’re going to play like Liverpool, he needs movement up front. There’s no movement for him. Nothing is happening.

“When he moves into midfield, I understand Roy’s point that it’s a different discipline. But the fact is, he has no movement around him and is getting caught because he’s taking too long to decide.

“I don’t think Phil Foden moved inside enough, and Harry Kane is dropping deep. They’re dropping deep when we need them to stretch the play. Bukayo Saka is the only one making forward runs.”