Gareth Southgate ready to stick with his Trent Alexander-Arnold midfield experiment against North Macedonia but admits he should be ‘mindful of the level of the opponent’
- Trent Alexander-Arnold produced a Man of the Match display against Malta
- The Liverpool star played as a midfielder and was handed the No 10 shirt
- All eyes will be on whether he starts in midfield against North Macedonia
Gareth Southgate insists he is ready to continue with his Trent Alexander-Arnold midfield experiment following the Liverpool star’s excellent display against Malta.
England face North Macedonia at Old Trafford on Monday night with Southgate set to make a host of changes from the team that started in Friday’s 4-0 win in Malta as the five Manchester City players rested for the game in Valetta come back into contention.
All eyes will be on whether Southgate deploys Alexander-Arnold in a central midfield role following his man of the match display playing in the unfamiliar position on Friday.
And the England head coach has indicated that he believes playing the Liverpool defender in a more advanced role is now a genuine option.
‘I won’t hesitate to play him there again. Of course we should always be mindful of the level of the opponent but the quality of the play is the quality of the play and lesser quality players couldn’t have produced that even against a lower opponent.
Gareth Southgate is prepared to continue with his Trent Alexander-Arnold experiment
The Liverpool star impressed in a midfield role for England during their 4-0 win over Malta
All eyes will be on whether Alexander-Arnold is picked to start in midfield against North Macedonia
‘He did everything we hoped he would do and maybe a little bit more in the pressing and the intensity and the adaptation. We were very happy with him.’
John Stones could replace Marc Guehi in the heart of England’s defence. Harry Maguire will hope to partner Stones, but Tyrone Mings is pushing for a start.
Maguire’s position as an England starter is under the microscope due to his lack of game time at Manchester United and the emergence of younger centre-backs such as Guehi and Levi Colwill – while Southgate has also name checked Manchester City’s young defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis as a potential option.
‘We like Marc [Guehi], we’ve invested in him. Him and Levi are probably the two youngest in the league. For England’s future, that’s good.
Alexander-Arnold scored a stunning long-range goal during England’s victory on Friday
‘I am interested to see Harwood-Bellis in the Under 21s, to see what might happen with him next year.
‘Then Lewis Dunk and Tyrone [Mings] had very good second parts of the season. So some competition there and we are very mindful of that.’
Elsewhere, Marcus Rashford is hoping to start at his home ground tonight, while City midfielder Kalvin Phillips could also feature from the beginning.
