Alexander-Arnold experiment pays off as England add one other string to their bow
Alexander-Arnold’s first foray in a extra superior position for England, towards Andorra in September 2021, was lower brief after simply 45 minutes and broadly deemed a failure however here the Liverpool man was outstanding, scoring one purpose and serving to to make an additional two as England continued their 100 per cent begin to qualifying.
Wearing the No10 shirt, Alexander-Arnold’s good 25-yard strike doubled England’s lead on 28 minutes after he had created the opener – an personal purpose Ferdinando Apap beneath stress from Harry Kane – with a wide ranging go for Bukayo Saka.
He was additionally concerned within the build-up to England being awarded the primary of two penalties, received and transformed by Kane after a lunge by defender Matthew Guillaumier, earlier than half time.
Callum Wilson added gloss to the scoreline with one other spot-kick late on after Steve Borg was deemed to have dealt with his cross following a examine of the pitchside monitor examine by referee Igor Pajac.
Southgate has reservations about Alexander-Arnold’s qualities defensively and has most well-liked Reece James, Kyle Walker or Kieran Trippier, who began this one, at right-back, however in a extra superior position he has the technical high quality to shine.
Two years in the past, within the 4-0 win over Andorra, Alexander-Arnold struggled to seek out area and affect the match earlier than he was returned to full-back on the interval however he underlined his improved understanding of the place with a wholly completely different show in Malta.
Drifting between the strains, he was continuously trying to obtain the ball on the half-turn in tight areas and play ahead, and his go for the opening purpose after simply eight minutes was the proper demonstration of his qualities: it was superbly-weighted, executed like a quarterback with a yard of area, and left Saka with a easy job to sq..
It was considered one of a number of eye-catching passes from Alexander-Arnold on the evening, together with a outside-of-the-boot ball into Wilson within the second half. He additionally appeared to push ahead behind Kane, and his purpose got here after discovering a pocket of area exterior the field and ending expertly.
Obviously, reward for Alexander-Arnold must be weighted towards the standard of the opposition – Malta are ranked 172nd on this planet – however the 24-year-old’s show suggests he can replicate his encouraging kind for Liverpool in midfield in an England shirt.
It can be telling if Southgate continues with the experiment towards far sterner opposition within the type of North Macedonia within the subsequent Euro 2024 qualifier at Old Trafford on Monday, significantly along with his 5 Manchester City gamers set to be accessible to start out once more.
Phil Foden was the one treble winner to make it on towards the Maltese, as a half-time substitute for Saka, whereas Eberechi Eze made his debut from the bench in a second half brief on motion, which England largely performed in first gear.
As one-sided as the sport was, in some respects it was one other marker of England’s progress beneath Southgate, offering a welcome distinction with their final go to to the Ta’ Qali National Stadium, which ended with the identical scoreline.
Six years in the past in Malta, England followers staged a mass walk-out with 20 minutes to play and their aspect solely 1-0 up having spent many of the match chanting, “we’re f****** s***” again and again. England scored three late objectives however a 4-0 win flattered them on the evening.
On this event, lots of the 4,100 England followers – a part of 17,000-strong sell-out crowd – did stream in the direction of the exit lengthy earlier than the ultimate whistle, possible in the hunt for a taxi away from the distant floor or a drink, however they might have been in much better spirits after an expert and convincing show, lit up by Alexander-Arnold.