Tuchel must double down with Alexander-Arnold if he wants to kill England narrative

How the tables have turned for Trent Alexander-Arnold. For large spells of his glistening career, he has struggled to transfer his expertise at club level to international football.

Now, following a brutal 14-month Three Lions absence, it seems he currently has a better chance of starting for England than for Real Madrid.

The timely rebirth of Alexander-Arnold could well prove to be an extra weapon Thomas Tuchel did not know he needed.

The 28-year-old may not possess the physicality of Reece James or Djed Spence's recovery speed or slide-tackling ability but he has creative qualities to die for and after all these years, it's time they're championed.

With robust runners such as Morgan Rogers, Jude Bellingham and Anthony Gordon buzzing off and in and around Harry Kane, Alexander-Arnold's vision and forward-thinking passing ensures Tuchel's forwards are certainly not short of service.

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After all, England's negative and overly defensive approach in the closing stages of July's catastrophic World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina in Atlanta is understood to have formed the basis of last month's cynical post-tournament review.

And if Tuchel truly wants to banish that narrative and exorcise those lingering demons, he's going to have to display a clear willingness to attack - instead of operating with caution.

Players of Alexander-Arnold's ilk, who have every club in the bag, could definitely prove key to such a shift.

Without intending to disrespect Jarell Quansah, a fine and promising young prospect who doesn't need knocking after his second-half blunder gifted Petar Sucic the equaliser, it was borderline insulting that he was considered a superior option to Trent at right-back this summer.

Quansah is a central defender and while he's more than capable of playing at full-back (despite his red card against Mexico), it was incredibly dubious that he was ahead of Alexander-Arnold in the pecking order.

It's the kind of call that typifies Tuchel's safety-first approach. The reality is, it will take more than Alexander-Arnold's 15th-minute Zinedine Zidane-esque pirouette and early dangerous wide play to win over the German where the big blockbuster matches - such as Sunday - are concerned.

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On the stroke of half-time, he hesitated in possession, lost the ball, and Croatia countered. Unfortunately, such moments are why defensive question marks will remain over Trent.

It's also largely why Arsenal duo Ben White and the returning Ezri Konsa are heavily fancied to start at Atletico Madrid's Metropolitano this weekend. Alexander-Arnold has become accustomed to such treatment.

It was only a few weeks back that Jose Mourinho had lauded his "masterclass" in a 3-0 away victory over Racing Santander.

In the two games that followed before the international break, AEK Athens and Valencia, the Englishman was handed a grand total of zero minutes and to rub salt into the wounds, there's an argument he's now third choice for Los Blancos behind Federico Valverde and Denzel Dumfries.