Cesc Fabregas and Rio Ferdinand agree on Alexander-Arnold in England opener

Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold started in midfield for England as the Three Lions began their Euro 2024 campaign with a narrow victory over Serbia thanks to a single Jude Bellingham goal.

And Alexander-Arnold, who has been the subject of intense scrutiny heading into the tournament, was praised by BBC Sport pundits Cesc Fabregas and Rio Ferdinand for his performance. While the Liverpool number 66 can get even better, it was a positive start in Germany as England picked up a win, and both former players feel there is more to come from the Reds man.

“Mixed,” was Cesc Fabregas’ verdict. “He had a moment where he was superb and maybe a few things came a little too easy with the ball [like when a heavy touch allowed a Serbia chance] but overall he reacted well and showed good personality. The more he plays in there, the better he will become. I’m not worried about that.”

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Ferdinand was in agreement that there was enough in Alexander-Arnold’s 69-minute appearance to take heart heading into group matches with Denmark and Slovenia, and then the knockout phase.

“It’s the quality,” he added. “When you have got him on the ball, you get caught a couple of times and that’s part and parcel. Especially in midfield, you get a lot more touches and people are coming at you from different angles.

“But then you see stuff like this [crossfield pass]. There aren’t many who can change it from being a defensive position to the final third in one pass, and he has that quality. The only concern you have is when you play against the better teams and he’s being asked questions defensively. But I like to focus on what he’s good at. It’s getting into these areas and picking out a white shirt.”

Liverpool.com says: Some of the talk around Alexander-Arnold has been laughable this week. The idea that he is so poor defensively that he can’t be trusted against much lesser opponents than the ones he has come out on top against while playing for his club is simply untrue and Roy Keane was typically over the top with his deliberately exaggerated assessment.

The simple truth is, if England is to be successful at this tournament and ones in the future too, it needs players like Alexander-Arnold to be fully utilized. Not getting the most from his potential would be a complete dereliction of duty.