Thomas Tuchel Responds to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Post After England Snub
Thomas Tuchel named a 35-man squad for England’s upcoming friendly matches against Uruguay and Japan but, surprisingly, Trent Alexander-Arnold was not called up.
The 27-year-old has had an injury-hit opening season in Spain with Real Madrid. In recent weeks, though, he has put in a string of good performances after establishing himself as a first-team regular.
However, Tuchel has not been impressed with Alexander-Arnold and decided against including him in his latest England squad, despite Reece James missing through injury.
The German again snubbed Alexander-Arnold after Jarrel Quansah pulled out through injury as he called up Ben White. Tottenham Hotspur’s Djed Spence and Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento are the other right-backs that have been preferred, while Ezri Konsa can also play the position if required.
Thomas Tuchel Responds to Alexander-Arnold’s Post
Alexander-Arnold took to social media after being snubbed by Tuchel. The Real Madrid star posted multiple images of himself in action against Atletico Madrid on Instagram with the caption: ‘Madrid. And nothing else.’
Tuchel was made aware of the Real Madrid star’s post and he made his feelings clear. He said: “Well, fair enough, fair enough.
“I think it is a very hard decision that we took. No doubt about his talent, no doubt about his career and what he can give to teams.
“We created a slightly different game model when he was not in camp in September, October, November – it was a game model that was built on intensity and positivity, built even on the profile of the right full back on overlaps, underlaps, very intense.
“It was a slightly different profile of players in camp who performed so well. We just stick to these guys.”
Thomas Tuchel Says it Was a ‘Hard Decision’ to Leave Out Alexander-Arnold
Tuchel then revealed he had a call with Alexander-Arnold to explain why he was not being included in his latest squad. He added:
“He was with us in June, he should have maybe deserved a second chance. It is a very hard decision, I am aware of it.
“I know it creates noise when you leave a player like Trent out. We had a call, I tried to explain the situation. He just has to accept it. It’s just a choice. A ‘sportive’ choice. A difficult choice and maybe a hard choice – and maybe to a certain degree unfair, but these choices have to be made.
“I think I know what Trent can give us, so the choice was for Ben (White) and for Tino Livramento, to stick with the guys who actually had good camps with us in September, November, December. They also need the minutes and there are a lot of good players for this position and Djed Spence as well, who fights for a ticket.
“He took it on his chin, he will keep on going, I will make sure I see some matches from Real Madrid and maybe a Champions League match live to get my last impressions. He is on a long list and everyone is still in the mix but at the moment some other guys are just ahead.”
Alexander-Arnold has played 21 times for Real Madrid this season. He has recorded three assists and is yet to score his first goal for the club.
