Trent Alexander-Arnold: Unblocked. Liverpool fans may not have been surprised for a second by their right-back’s reckless display here in Dublin.
They are used to his bursts of raiding down the wing. They are used to seeing him pop up in midfield, where he can demonstrate his range of passing to devastating effect.
But those who follow England won’t necessarily have recognised this Alexander-Arnold, whose international career so far has been average at best.
Alexander-Arnold has often cut a timid, almost helpless figure when wearing an England shirt, lacking the confidence he usually exudes and giving the air of an individualist player paralysed by the fear of making a mistake.
Of course, that creates frustration, because we all see the talent, the potential, the ability.
Trent Alexander-Arnold enjoyed a fearless performance at right-back in Dublin
There are those who will blame former manager Gareth Southgate for not giving Alexander-Arnold the conditions to excel.
The Liverpool player has often cut a shy, almost helpless figure when wearing an England shirt.
Why Alexander-Arnold’s international career has been stagnant until now is a matter open to interpretation.
There are those who insist the responsibility lies with the player. There are others who will blame former manager Gareth Southgate for failing to provide Alexander-Arnold with the conditions to excel.
The truth probably lies somewhere in between, but Alexander-Arnold may have found in Lee Carsley an international coach willing to provide him with the framework to finally make his England career a success.
Deployed in his natural right-back position here at the Aviva Stadium, he looked like a world-class footballer.
His delightful cross onto Harry Kane’s head deserved more, his no-look pass to Jack Grealish when under huge pressure, Sammie Szmodic, earned a deserved pass.
Then, in the 12th minute, Alexander-Arnold looked up, surveyed the landscape, before curling a pinpoint 50-yard pass into the path of Anthony Gordon that eventually led to Declan Rice opening the scoring.
Like a quarterback, Alexander-Arnold ran the show with splashes of stardust from his right-footed wand, just as we all knew he could.
But it wasn’t just the flashy elements of his game that impressed. He completed simple tasks well: one-touch passing, his positioning, more often than not, was precise.
But in Lee Carsley, Alexander-Arnold may have found an international coach willing to give him the framework to finally make his England career a success.
Alexander-Arnold looked up, took in the scenery, before curling a precise 50-yard pass into the path of Anthony Gordon that eventually led to Declan Rice opening the scoring.
Given Southgate’s excellent record at major tournaments, it is difficult to judge negatively the decisions he made.
But most of all, he strutted around the pitch here in Ireland as if he was enjoying playing for England. Let’s be honest, that wasn’t always the case.
Of course, tougher tests lie ahead before we can truly say that Alexander-Arnold was a post-Southgate success.
In fact, he seemed to fade away at times in the second half.
“If you look at how Trent has played this season, it’s very similar to how he’s played at Liverpool,” Carsley said.
“These days full-backs are like midfielders, Trent is in that category. I thought he was very good today. He got a bit tired at the end but he had a positive performance.”
But the signs were promising. In fact, it makes one wonder why Southgate did not at least give Alexander-Arnold a chance to take over the right-back role.
The now ex-England manager clearly wanted to shoehorn the Liverpool vice-captain’s passing attributes into his side in some capacity, judging by the experiment of using him as a central midfielder at Euro 2024.
The less said about that experiment, the better.
Kyle Walker, of course, was the main reason behind Alexander-Arnold’s inability to secure the right-back spot during Southgate’s reign.
But, having said that, Southgate also preferred Kieran Trippier. The same was true of Reece James.
The accusation was always that Southgate simply did not trust the defensive side of Alexander-Arnold’s game amid a prevailing feeling the former England manager would prioritise solidity over style.
Given Southgate’s excellent record at major tournaments, it is difficult to judge negatively the decisions he made.
There is, however, a feeling that Alexander-Arnold’s failure to excel under his tutelage will generally be remembered as one of the disappointments of Southgate’s time in charge.
Alexander-Arnold’s delightful cross to Harry Kane’s head deserved more
Kyle Walker, of course, was the main reason behind Alexander-Arnold’s inability to secure the right-back spot during Southgate’s tenure.
But, having said that, Southgate also preferred Kieran Trippier, who has now retired.
But the past is the past and opportunity is finally knocking for Alexander-Arnold in an England shirt. Trippier has retired, Walker, who was left out of this squad, will be 36 when the World Cup begins.
James needs to focus on staying fit for Chelsea before anything else after two injury-plagued years.
Alexander-Arnold has everything he needs to make the job his own and make the most of it in the near future.
And in Carsley, he appears to have a coach who is willing to trust him and his game, defensive flaws and all.
The Alexander-Arnold era has arrived. To be fair, we’ve waited too long.
