Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has questioned Gareth Southgate's decision to omit Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold from his latest England squad.
After an undoubtedly shaky start to the season, Alexander-Arnold has really found his footing in recent weeks and was expected to earn himself a spot in Southgate's England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland.
Instead, Alexander-Arnold fell victim to England's surplus of right-backs as Chelsea's Reece James, Manchester City's Kyle Walker and Atletico Madrid's Kieran Trippier were all given the nod ahead of him - something The Athletic note left Liverpool stunned.
In a later interview with The Athletic, Gerrard admitted he was surprised to see Alexander-Arnold dropped from the squad, and he let the 22-year-old know that his door is always open if he needs any support.
“One thing’s for sure, I’ll always be there for Trent,” he said. “It goes without saying, any second of the day. I wouldn’t make the first move. He’s a man himself. He knows where he’s at.
“Gareth Southgate makes the decisions there. I don’t necessarily agree with that decision. But I’m not the England manager. I think Trent is the best English right-back in the country.
“One thing I’ve learned from being a player is you can’t always be 10 out of 10. When you do come off, you need that support, love and attention from your manager more than anyone else. So, I was surprised by the decision but that’s my opinion and my opinion is not important in this.
“Trent is a world class right-back, he’s the best right-back the country has got. We’ve got other fantastic right-backs by the way. But in terms of the loaded side of the question, I’m there for Trent and any of the other Liverpool players at any moment of the day.”
Southgate confessed that Alexander-Arnold was 'very unfortunate' to miss out, but stressed that the trio picked ahead of him had all been selected on merit, despite Trippier playing just six times in all competitions in 2021 because of a global footballing ban.
Alexander-Arnold has never managed to convince Southgate that he is worthy of a permanent spot in the starting lineup. The Liverpool man has managed 12 caps for the Three Lions, despite his debut coming all the way back in the summer of 2018.
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Source : 90min