Alexander-Arnold’s first foray in a more advanced role for England, against Andorra in September 2021, was cut short after just 45 minutes and widely deemed a failure but here the Liverpool man was outstanding, scoring one goal and helping to make a further two as England continued their 100 per cent start to qualifying.
Wearing the No10 shirt, Alexander-Arnold’s brilliant 25-yard strike doubled England’s lead on 28 minutes after he had created the opener – an own goal Ferdinando Apap under pressure from Harry Kane – with a breathtaking pass for Bukayo Saka.
He was also involved in the build-up to England being awarded the first of two penalties, won and converted by Kane after a lunge by defender Matthew Guillaumier, before half time.
Callum Wilson added gloss to the scoreline with another spot-kick late on after Steve Borg was deemed to have handled his cross following a check of the pitchside monitor check by referee Igor Pajac.
Southgate has reservations about Alexander-Arnold’s qualities defensively and has preferred Reece James, Kyle Walker or Kieran Trippier, who started this one, at right-back, but in a more advanced role he has the technical quality to shine.
Two years ago, in the 4-0 win over Andorra, Alexander-Arnold struggled to find space and influence the match before he was returned to full-back at the interval but he underlined his improved understanding of the position with an entirely different display in Malta.
Drifting between the lines, he was constantly looking to receive the ball on the half-turn in tight areas and play forward, and his pass for the opening goal after just eight minutes was the perfect demonstration of his qualities: it was superbly-weighted, executed like a quarterback with a yard of space, and left Saka with a simple task to square.
It was one of several eye-catching passes from Alexander-Arnold on the night, including a outside-of-the-boot ball into Wilson in the second half. He also looked to push forward behind Kane, and his goal came after finding a pocket of space outside the box and finishing expertly.
Obviously, praise for Alexander-Arnold has to be weighted against the quality of the opposition – Malta are ranked 172nd in the world – but the 24-year-old’s display suggests he can replicate his encouraging form for Liverpool in midfield in an England shirt.
It will be telling if Southgate continues with the experiment against far sterner opposition in the form of North Macedonia in the subsequent Euro 2024 qualifier at Old Trafford on Monday, particularly with his five Manchester City players set to be available to start again.
Phil Foden was the only treble winner to make it on against the Maltese, as a half-time replacement for Saka, while Eberechi Eze made his debut from the bench in a second half short on action, which England largely played in first gear.
As one-sided as the game was, in some respects it was another marker of England’s progress under Southgate, providing a welcome contrast with their last visit to the Ta’ Qali National Stadium, which ended with the same scoreline.
Six years ago in Malta, England fans staged a mass walk-out with 20 minutes to play and their side only 1-0 up having spent most of the match chanting, “we’re f****** s***” over and over again. England scored three late goals but a 4-0 win flattered them on the night.
On this occasion, many of the 4,100 England fans – part of 17,000-strong sell-out crowd – did stream towards the exit long before the final whistle, likely in search of a taxi away from the remote ground or a drink, but they would have been in far better spirits after a professional and convincing display, lit up by Alexander-Arnold.
