Jose Mourinho has suggested he will not use Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield again after the Real Madrid star played like ‘he’s got a thumbtack in his shoe’ against Inter Milan.
The former Liverpool star routinely drifted inside into a central position to great success under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield but a change in position for England never quite paid off. Gareth Southgate switched him to a midfield role in Euro 2024 but abandoned the experiment after just two games.
Alexander-Arnold left Merseyside to join Real Madrid last year with Jose Mourinho taking the reins at the Bernabeu this summer.
The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss revived the midfield experiment in Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan, playing the right-back alongside Fede Valverde in the middle of the park.
Exclusive Premier League previews
Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free.
Alexander-Arnold created two chances and attempted more crosses than any other Real player on the night but failed to register a single tackle.
Los Blancos sealed a 2-1 victory over the Italian champions with Mourinho grateful for Alexander-Arnold’s efforts. But the Real boss is unlikely to turn to him again after conceding the 27-year-old is ‘not a midfielder.’
‘He has played midfield with England and Liverpool… but he is not a midfielder,’ Mourinho said post-match.
‘He has played very well. He has interpreted what he needed to really well, tactically. Both him and Valverde have worked very well at this level.’
Former Real Madrid and Tottenham midfielder Rafael van der Vaart was more critical of Alexander-Arnold. The Dutchman said he ‘does not enjoy watching’ the England international who ‘gets every ball wrong,’ in a scathing assessment of his performance in the Spanish capital.
‘I don’t enjoy watching him. I’m even watching him with a bit of amazement,’ Van der Vaart told Ziggo Sport. ‘He’s standing in front of the defence, which isn’t his position.
‘It looks like he’s not fit or is suffering from something. Normally, these balls would be a piece of cake for him. I find him slow and making poor decisions on the ball.
‘Just look at how he’s shuffling along at the back here. It looks like he has a thumbtack in his shoe. He’s limping a bit, every ball goes wrong. I think he’s playing very poorly. I would substitute him.
‘When they started cheering for a goal, it looked like he was tired. Alexander-Arnold really needed to catch his breath.’