Alexander-Arnold was left out of the selection for the 3-3 draw with Germany at Wembley, England’s last game before the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
It wasn’t necessarily a surprising decision, as Southgate often turned to Trippier and Kyle Walker, while it’s also clear that England boss prefers Reece James at fullback over Alexander-Arnold.
The Liverpool star has never been a fixture under Southgate and his place in the World Cup squad appears to be in serious doubt after it was made clear he is currently fourth-choice.
“I’ve had long conversations with all of them,” Southgate said.
“The other night [against Italy], we didn’t need the left back cover. Against Germany we did that because of the way we went with the team so we needed Chilly [Ben Chilwell] on the bench and we had Kieran who, at this point, I feel his all round game is ahead [of Alexander-Arnold].”
The decision to keep up Harry Maguire has attracted just as much attention, if not more, after the central defender was blamed for two of Germany’s goals at Wembley.
Maguire started the first two games of the season for Manchester United but has only played ten minutes of Premier League football since then, although that didn’t stop Southgate from continuing to put his trust in him.
“I know everyone says he’s important to me, he’s important to us,” Southgate said. “It’s us, it’s not me.
‘Why do we choose him? Because he is one of the players who gives us the best chance of winning.
“So really we should all want a Harry Maguire who plays regularly and plays with confidence.
“Obviously that goes for a lot of players, but he’s the one that everything lands on, which must be a really difficult space for him, but he shows a great character.”