If it wasn't for injury, Gareth Southgate would have included Trent Alexander-Arnold in his England squad for the European Championships that took place in the summer. As it happened, the Liverpool right-back cruelly picked up a thigh issue in the final 10 minutes of the last warm-up game for England and his European Championships dream was over. Initially, four right-backs were included in the squad, with Southgate hinting at how Alexander-Arnold could be deployed in midfield something that was seen in Sunday's 4-0 win over Andorra, but most likely will never be repeated by Jürgen Klopp. The 22-year-old found himself starting on the right of a midfield trio alongside Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and talented youngster Jude Bellingham. It has been noted in the early parts of this season how Alexander-Arnold's attacking positioning for Liverpool had been tweaked to allow him to drift inside the pitch, taking up a midfield-type role. The 22-year-old is the most creative player in Klopp's side and the Liverpool system has been built around allowing him to get into threatening areas with the ball at his feet, allowing him to work his magic. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles In the last four seasons, only Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne has recorded more assists than the right-back with 34 to Alexander-Arnold's 33. With statistics like this, it makes you wonder why Southgate doesn't allow one of the Premier League's most influential players to play in his favoured position. The problem lies with the way England set up. Klopp has recruited and trained his players to play in a certain system that allows for the full-backs to steam forward for Liverpool. What we have seen so far this season, the trident of Alexander-Arnold, Harvey Elliott and Mohamed Salah has been linking brilliantly with Elliott able to take up Alexander-Arnold's position on the overlap when the full-back comes into the midfield. Evidence of this was Sadio Mané's fine goal against Burnley, which was nominated for the Premier League Goal of the Month award. Elliott picked up a switch of play from Virgil van Dijk while almost standing on the touchline. Alexander-Arnold was found inside the pitch and he was able to find Mané with a brilliant pass before the Senegal international finished the move off by scoring. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles The 22-year-old's move into the England midfield only lasted 45 minutes as he moved into his favoured right-back role in the second half where he looked much more comfortable being able to come on to the ball. Alexander-Arnold averaged over 100 touches per 90 minutes for Liverpool last season, more than any of the midfielders. If Southgate was to ever try the Alexander-Arnold experiment then the Andorra game was the correct time to try it as England dominated the action throughout, but the youngster struggled to get on the ball as much as he does from the right-back role. Playing in midfield requires different movements as you have to be able to free yourself from your marker. Alexander-Arnold has not trained for this position since before he was a senior player, and was clearly finding it difficult to get himself in a position to get on the ball. There was a 10-minute period in the early stages of the first half where he only touched the ball twice with one of those touches coming in the form of a throw-in. Reece James, from right-back, recorded 52 touches in the first half while Alexander-Arnold had just 33 in the opening 45 minutes. Former England striker Gary Lineker has been among those advocates for Alexander-Arnold to be moved into midfield after he said on Twitter: "He should be playing, like he did as a kid, in midfield. Philipp Lahm switched, Joshua Kimmich too. The best players should be in a position where they can more frequently use their brilliance." But it is extremely doubtful Klopp will take this advice on board given the influence Alexander-Arnold has on the Liverpool system and the way the team performs. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles ……