England manager Gareth Southgate recently dropped Alexander-Arnold from the Three Lions squad and question marks over his defensive abilities have continued to haunt the right-back this season.

 

He recently scored a last-minute winner against Aston Villa, but was defensively poor in Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie last week.

 

 

There have been suggestions that Alexander-Arnold’s abilities on the ball could translate well if he is shifted to a midfield role, but Lawrenson insisted that he must stick to right-back.

 

The former Red stressed that playing in midfield compared to defence is vastly different and his strengths can be easily neutralised by disciplined teams who could mark him out of a game.

 

 

He feels the best use of his pace and ability on the ball is still in the right-back position despite his defensive frailties.

 

Asked where he sees Alexander-Arnold’s future, Lawrenson said on Off The Ball: “Right back.

 

 

“I can speak from experience because playing at the back and then going and playing in midfield is just so completely different.

 

“When you play at the back 99 times out of 100 in the games, you are facing everything and you are almost the last step before the goalkeeper.

 

“When you play in midfield you have got to play on the half-turn and it’s different.

 

“Everyone says, play him on the right side of midfield, well he will get picked up and somebody will mark him really tight because of his quality on the ball and crossing.

 

“You are Wolves coming to play at Anfield, you sit your left-side midfield player on him and say, don’t leave him alone.

 

“The thing when he plays right-back if you watch generally, he gets the ball and he has got space to run into.

 

“It straight away builds up his pace, he is lightning quick and he can take people on not from the half-turn or a standing start.

 

“It is a massive thing and I just don’t see it.”

 

Alexander-Arnold has a real fight on his hands to win his place back in the England squad before the European Championship this summer.