Roy Keane claims Trent Alexander-Arnold will be “ripped to shreds” in new position

Man United legend and Football pundit Roy Keane has claimed Trent Alexander-Arnold will “be ripped to shreds” in midfield during the latter stages of Euro 2024.

With Gareth Southgate reportedly playing Alexander-Arnold in midfield for England’s first match against Serbia, Keane and Gary Neville were debating the merits of this.

And it seems a narrative has already begun to take shape about the Liverpool player’s abilities.

Speaking on ITV 1, Keane was very sceptical of Alexander-Arnold’s midfield credentials.

?? "I'm struggling in my mind to see how we go the whole way with that back four." – Gary Neville

Will defence be England's Achilles heel this tournament? ?#Euro2024 pic.twitter.com/ENO6mT7P0T

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 15, 2024

He said: “I think they’ll be fine in the group. I think Trent will be fine in his position in them matches, but against the real top teams, I think he’ll be found out very much so.

“I think he’ll be ripped to shreds if he plays against one of the better teams in midfield. I don’t think he’ll be up to it.”

Keane’s former Man United teammate, Neville, was less scathing, but still wary of Southgate’s reported decision.

“I think against Serbia who are going to play deep, we’re gonna need, to be fair, to find a way to cut them open,” the pundit commented.

“I can see why Trent works in this particular match.

“What Trent playing there does is allow basically Kyle Walker to stay back, basically as a third centre-back, which he’s done for a lot of the season with Man City.

“It allows Trent to go in there on that right-hand side and deliver almost as a right back then come back into defence.”

While some may agree with Keane, there is nothing to really back his claim up – Alexander-Arnold has never played in that position long enough to suggest he would crumble.

If he were to be exposed, it would likely be a fault of the system rather than his shortcomings. However, that isn’t the narrative that is taking shape.

Southgate’s side have a group they are expected to progress from comfortably, that also contains Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia.

The “better teams” Keane referred to that Alexander-Arnold will supposedly be “ripped to shreds” against include France, who England could meet in the semi-final if they both win their groups.

We’ll see then if Liverpool’s three-time Champions League finalist and five-time major trophy winner can cope with decent opposition.