Roy Keane blasts Trent Alexander-Arnold’s efficiency vs Denmark

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.

Roy Keane has criticised Trent Alexander-Arnold (pictured) for his midfield performance against Denmark 

The ex-Man United midfielder claimed that the Liverpool right back was ‘not up to’ playing in the centre of the pitch

‘When you’ve been taken off in the two games; that’s not a good sign,’ Keane told ITV Sport.

‘I thought it was always a huge gamble to play him, a player who doesn’t play [that position] week in, week out for his club. I know people say he drifts in there for Liverpool, but drifting into a position and starting there are different.

‘I’ve played in midfield, it’s a tough position. Physically, getting your distances… He’s come up short in the two games.

‘Now it’s not all down to him. You’d probably have to put this on Gareth [Southgate]. It’s a huge gamble throwing a full back into the middle of the park. This is not against the French or the Spanish where they have tougher tests ahead. This is against two teams who we thought England would be fairly comfortable against and have lots of possession. 

‘It was a big ask for him and he’s not up to it.’

After the match, Southgate had bizarrely admitted that starting Alexander-Arnold in midfield for England was an ‘experiment’ because his side can’t find a replacement for Kalvin Phillips.

But Ian Wright took to the defence of the Liverpool star, claiming that he had very few options ahead of him as England’s forwards struggled to create opportunities inside the final third.

Alexander-Arnold (right) was taken off in the second half by Gareth Southgate

Despite Keane’s criticism, the Liverpool star (pictured) was one of England’s most creative players 

‘Can I just say on Trent’s behalf though, if you have seen his capabilities at Liverpool and what he can do when he gets into those areas,’ Wright began.

‘Now if you’re going to play in the way in which we’ve seen Liverpool play – he’s going to need movement up front. There’s no movement for him. There’s nothing happening for him.

‘And when he’s going into midfield, I hear what Roy’s saying that it’s a different kind of discipline for him. But the fact is that he’s got no movement and he’s getting caught on it because he’s taking too long to make a decision.

‘I don’t think there was enough movement from Phil Foden coming inside, Harry Kane’s coming in deep. They’re coming deep when we need him to stretch the play. [Bukayo] Saka is the only one who is going that way.’

 Keane again emphasised his point, stating that Alexander-Arnold had placed a burden on Declan Rice in midfield.

Ian Wright (pictured) meanwhile claimed that England’s forwards gave Alexander-Arnold nothing to work with thanks to their poor movement up top 

While Harry Kane (pictured) scored England’s opener, he dropped back too deep during the match

Keane also claimed that Declan Rice (pictured) had been ‘left to babysit Alexander-Arnold’ in midfield 

Keane added: ‘We all talk in football about what you do in possession, but it’s really important against the better teams what you do out of possession.

‘That’s why he’s been thrown in at the deep end. Ok, he’s going to be comfortable on the ball and he can see a pass there’s no doubting that, but it’s the other bits of his game – Rice feels like he is almost babysitting him in there. You can’t do that at this level. You will be found out.’