Southgate opts for 'the ones we believe' in after Alexander-Arnold England snub

England manager Gareth Southgate has not included Trent Alexander-Arnold for Monday’s matchday squad against Germany.

The Three Lions will take on Germany in their Nations League Group A3 finale at Wembley. As their relegation status is already sealed, the game is effectively a dead rubber one.

Nonetheless, Southgate appears set to field a strong team anyway – one without Alexander-Arnold, who was an unused substitute in Friday’s 1-0 defeat to Italy. Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, and Reece James will be his right-back options instead.

🚨🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | Ivan Toney is included in England's matchday squad to face Germany

❌ Trent Alexander-Arnold
❌ Jack Grealish [Suspended]
❌ Jarrod Bowen
❌ Fikayo Tomori
❌ James Ward-Prowse pic.twitter.com/68CNda69fF

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 26, 2022

“He does have a fantastic range of passing, we’re blessed with different profiles of players in that position,” Southgate said of Alexander-Arnold’s omission.

“If we play with wing-backs, Trippier and Reece James are also exceptional with the ball, in different ways, and we’re always having to look at the full package with everything.

“If you assess the players on all of their attributes, they’ve all been to Champions League finals, some of them have been to latter stages of major tournaments with us, Trent’s won the league, Trippier’s won the Spanish league, Walker’s won the English league.

“There are so many good attributes about them. It’s a really difficult position to decide on, but we have to go with the ones we believe, and ultimately I’ll be judged on the outcome, as we know.”

AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori, West Ham striker Jarrod Bowen, and Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse have joined Alexander-Arnold on the absentee list. Manchester City’s Jack Grealish, meanwhile, is suspended.

Southgate has included in-form Brentford forward Ivan Toney for the first time though.