In a positional change many have anticipated for some time, Trent Alexander-Arnold finally played in midfield on Sunday.

Such is the Liverpool right-back’s attacking talent, fans and pundits alike have often talked up Alexander-Arnold’s capabilities of one day stepping forward into a more advanced role.

England’s game against Andorra was deemed the perfect time to experiment by Gareth Southgate as the 22-year-old lined up in a midfield three alongside Jordan Henderson and Jude Bellingham. 

But it was a move that only lasted 45 minutes after the Three Lions boss moved Alexander-Arnold back his familiar position for the second half, with the player himself labelling the stint as “difficult”.

So, did Alexander-Arnold’s midfield adventure work and does he have a future there?

The case for the switch

It feels as though there have been calls for Alexander-Arnold to move into midfield ever since he made his breakthrough as an exciting 18-year-old.

It is not hard to understand why, either.

Liverpool's local lad is so often one of his side’s main sources of attack, frequently being found far advanced on the right flank whipping in crosses for Jurgen Klopp's outfit.

Since the 2018-19 season, only Kevin de Bruyne (34) has registered more assists in the Premier League than Alexander-Arnold’s 33.

It is not unreasonable to question how many more he could get if he was played in a similarly advanced position to the Belgian, rather than his familiar right-back role.

In 2019, following a masterclass against Leicester City in a 4-0 victory for Liverpool, Reds legend Jamie Carragher talked up Alexander-Arnold’s capabilities of playing a midfield role. 

Carragher said: "People talk about the future and could he come into midfield and be a Kevin De Bruyne type player — he has more quality now than Liverpool’s midfield players.

“You think about the crosses that De Bruyne puts in from the right midfield position and maybe that’s a position where Trent could play."

Given the attacking areas the Liverpool star already frequently finds himself in, allowing him to neglect his defensive roles and focus even more on getting forward would, in theory, take his offensive output to the next level.

How did he fare?

Before kick-off, Southgate outlined that he has been planning to deploy Alexander-Arnold in midfield “for a little while”.

But by half-time the Three Lions boss had clearly seen enough as he was switched back to his more comfortable position for the second period, impressing on the flank as England added three further goals to their tally.

Such was Andorra’s compact set up against the favourites, Alexander-Arnold struggled to impose himself, with the player admitting it was a different kind of experience to what he is used to.

Alexander-Arnold told talkSPORT: “It’s a new role for me, a bit different. I think there’s been a lot of questions being asked whether I can or cannot play in there and a lot of opinions being voiced over the last few weeks.

“It was an experiment the manager wanted to try out, but it was difficult to get on the ball for me, I found it a lot more difficult to get on the ball in those spaces.”

Southgate was in agreement that Alexander-Arnold struggled at times, admitting he looked more at home in the second half.

The England boss said: "It is inevitable he [Alexander-Arnold] looked more comfortable at right-back given how much he has played at right-back, but we wanted to see something and we felt this was a good game to look at it.

"In the second half, he was in positions where he felt more comfortable, coming onto things and looked happier in that position. His play with the ball exhibited that happiness."

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

It is telling that despite all the calls, Liverpool manager Klopp has largely never deployed him there — even when they had depleted options in midfield last season.

If Alexander-Arnold can affect the game the way he continues to do from right-back, then it is hard to argue for making a change in his position.

Since the start of last season, only Bruno Fernandes has created more chances in the Premier League than the Reds youngster.

And after previously talking up his chances of playing in the centre, Carragher appears to have more recently changed his tune on the matter.

When asked prior to Sunday’s game on whether Alexander-Arnold should play in midfield, Carragher said: “No he shouldn’t.

“The way Klopp sets up, he’s virtually a midfielder in possession anyway. The amount of assists he gets means it would be mad to change his position.”

Square pegs in round holes

The history of England sides tells you that moving players out of position to accommodate others is not the most rewarding approach.

Sven Goran Eriksson’s utilisation of Paul Scholes at left midfield to fit him into a team also containing Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard proved to be one of the defining points of the Swede’s failures as England boss.

Similarly, Roy Hodgson’s insistence on shoehorning Wayne Rooney into the team on the left or centre of midfield was no doubt to the detriment of the team rather than a positive.

The success the Three Lions manager has achieved — particularly with Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips acting as a double-pivot at Euro 2020 — means he already has a winning formula in that area of the pitch.

There is no pressing need for Southgate to continue his Alexander-Arnold experiment for the time being.