Trent Alexander-Arnold: Unlocked. Those with Liverpool beliefs may not have batted an eyelid at their right-back’s swashbuckling performance here in Dublin.
They are used to his marauding bursts down the wing. They are used to seeing him pop up in midfield, where he can display his passing range to devastating effect.
But anyone who follows England will not necessarily have recognised this Alexander-Arnold. His international career has been mediocre at best.
Alexander-Arnold has often cut a shy, almost forlorn figure in an England shirt; lacking the confidence he usually exudes, he carries the aura of an individual playing within himself. Someone frozen by the fear of making a mistake.
That is frustrating of course, because we all see the talent, the potential, the ability.
Trent Alexander-Arnold enjoyed a swashbuckling performance at right back in Dublin
There are those who blame former head coach Gareth Southgate for not providing Alexander-Arnold with the conditions to excel.
The Liverpool player has often cut a shy, almost desperate figure in an England shirt
There are many explanations as to why Alexander-Arnold’s international career has been so difficult so far.
There are those who firmly believe that the responsibility lies with the player. There are others who blame former head coach Gareth Southgate for not giving Alexander-Arnold the conditions to excel.
The truth probably lies somewhere in between. But in Lee Carsley, Alexander-Arnold may have found an international manager willing to provide the framework to finally make his England career a success.
In his natural position as right back here at the Aviva Stadium, he looked every bit the part of an international-level footballer.
His delightful cross straight onto Harry Kane’s head deserved more, as did his no-look pass to Jack Grealish when Sammie Szmodics received the deserved pass under intense pressure.
In the 12th minute, Alexander-Arnold looked up, surveyed the landscape and delivered an unerring 45-yard pass to Anthony Gordon, eventually leading to Declan Rice opening the scoring.
Like a true quarterback, Alexander-Arnold was in charge, with a whiff of stardust from his magical right foot – just as we all knew he could do.
But it wasn’t just the flashy elements of his game that impressed. He completed the simple tasks well; one touch passing, his positioning was – more often than not – on point.
But in Lee Carsley, Alexander-Arnold may have found an international manager willing to provide him with the framework to finally make his England career a success.
Alexander-Arnold looked up, surveyed the landscape and then executed an unerring 50-yard pass to Anthony Gordon, eventually leading to Declan Rice opening the scoring.
Given Southgate’s excellent record at major tournaments, it is difficult to judge the decisions he made negatively.
But more than anything, he swaggered around the pitch here in Ireland as if he was enjoying playing for England. Let’s face it, that wasn’t always the case.
Of course, there are still tougher tests to come before we can truly call Alexander-Arnold a success after Southgate.
In fact, it seemed like he was slipping a bit in some areas in the second half.
“If you look at how Trent has played this season it is very similar to how he played at Liverpool,” said Carsley.
‘Wing defenders are like midfielders these days, Trent is in the bracket. I thought he was really good today. He got a little tired at the end, but a positive performance.’
But the signs were promising. Indeed, it begs the question why Southgate didn’t at least give Alexander-Arnold a chance to make the right-back position his own.
The now departed England manager clearly wanted to squeeze the Liverpool vice-captain’s passing skills into his team, as evidenced by his experiment in using him as a central midfielder at Euro 2024.
The less said about that experiment the better.
Kyle Walker was of course the main reason why Alexander-Arnold failed to nail down the right-back position during Southgate’s reign.
But, that said, Southgate also preferred Kieran Trippier. It was a similar story with Reece James.
Southgate was always accused of not trusting the defensive aspect of Alexander-Arnold’s game, as there was a feeling that the former England manager placed more value on solidity than style.
Given Southgate’s excellent record at major tournaments, it is difficult to judge his decisions negatively.
Yet there is a sense that Alexander-Arnold’s failure to excel under his leadership will be widely remembered as one of the disappointments of Southgate’s time as coach.
Alexander-Arnold’s delicious cross to Harry Kane’s head deserved more
Kyle Walker was of course the main reason behind Alexander-Arnold’s inability to secure the right-back position during Southgate’s reign
But that said, Southgate also favoured Kieran Trippier, who has since retired
But the past is the past and the chance finally beckons for Alexander-Arnold in an England shirt. Trippier is retired, Walker – who was not in this squad – will be 36 when the World Cup starts.
James’ main focus must be on staying fit for Chelsea after two years of injuries.
It’s all there for the taking for Alexander-Arnold, and he has everything in his closet to make the position his own for the foreseeable future.
And it seems that in Carsley he has a manager who trusts him and his game, despite his defensive shortcomings.
The era of Alexander-Arnold is here. In all honesty, we have waited long enough.