Why Trent Alexander-Arnold was left out of the England squad

Gareth Southgate has explained that Trent Alexander-Arnold was not named in the England squad for March's World Cup qualifiers because he has not hit the heights of previous seasons and due to the strength the Three Lions boast at right back.

The Liverpool fullback was the headline absentee from England's 26-player squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland, with Southgate instead opting to select Reece James, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker.

Alexander-Arnold has featured 27 times in the top flight this season and chipped in with three assists as Liverpool's Premier League title defence has fallen flat.

"There's some areas of the pitch where we've got incredible competition for places and Trent's very unfortunate," Southgate explained at his England press conference.

"I don't think he's played at the level that he found during the last couple of years but I think he's getting very close to that now, I think in the last few weeks he's definitely taken steps in the right direction.

"It's simply that we think Reece James and Kieran Trippier have had exceptional seasons with their clubs, Kyle Walker is in great form with Manchester City. We've got other players in the league who are also playing well in that position: (Matty) Cash at Aston Villa (Luke) Ayling at Leeds, we've got two very good right backs in the Under 21s. It really is a remarkable position of strength."

Southgate revealed that he had spoken to Alexander-Arnold to inform him that he had not been selected, but insisted he could very easily force himself back into the squad ahead of this summer's European Championships.

"What I said to Trent earlier today, I've made that same call to Kyle and to Kieran in the past, and their response was a good one," Southgate added. "They took up the challenge and the found themselves back in the squad.

"Trent is of course a super talent and I'm certain he'll play a big role for England in the future. He missed out this time but we could quite conceivably be sitting here before the summer and he's with us."

Alexander-Arnold's omission coupled with the injuries to Joe Gomez and Jordan Henderson means that there is not a single Liverpool player in Southgate's squad.

As a result, the Three Lions will play over three consecutive matches without a representative from Liverpool for the first time since a run of five games between 1997, as stat pointed out by Opta's Michael Reid.