Rooney hits out at ‘mind-boggling’ decision with Alexander-Arnold, Arsenal star – ‘no disrespect’
Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney has hit out at England boss Thomas Tuchel following his recent decision involving Arsenal star Ben White.
White produced one of his best performances in a while in midweek, but he has otherwise flattered to deceive this season and could leave Arsenal this summer.
When fit, Jurrien Timber is clearly ahead of White in the pecking order, so it was quite surprising that the Englishman was included in Tuchel’s squad for the March international break.
Some also considered White to be a controversial inclusion because he previously refused to play for England, but Tuchel preferred the Gunners star to Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold when naming his most recent squad.
This was Tuchel’s boldest call with his latest squad, and Rooney cannot fathom choosing White over Alexander-Arnold.
“No disrespect to Ben White – I think he’s a fantastic player – but for him to be in the squad and playing ahead of Trent is mind-boggling,” Rooney said on the Wayne Rooney Podcast.
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Speaking generally on the England squad, Rooney has argued that Tuchel is “still trying to figure out” his best team.
He added: “We’ve created a pressur. I like what Tuchel has done, but I still think, at this stage, you should be having question marks on one or two players.
“It seems like he’s still trying to figure out the rest of his squad, and 10 [starting] players.”
Regarding Alexander-Arnold, Rooney’s former teammate for club and country, ex-Everton star Phil Jagielka, has argued that the Real Madrid star deserved to be in the squad.
“I think [Alexander-Arnold] probably still makes it,” Jagielka added.
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“You need your best players.
“If [Alexander-Arnold] proves he can play half as well as he played for most of his time at Liverpool, he’s definitely worth taking on the plane. If Reece James is fit, you put him in [at right-back].”
To which Rooney responded: “Reece James isn’t the most defensive.
“In terms of the lads who are there, you wouldn’t say they’re the best defensively anyway, [any] of them.”
Rooney backs Man Utd star to start for England in defence at the World Cup
Jagielka and Rooney disagreed on who England should start at left-back this summer.
“I really, really enjoy watching O’Reilly, but he gets caught out of defence,” Jagielka said.
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“He doesn’t get asked to play left-back when he’s at Manchester City.
“I’d go O’Reilly at this moment in time, but there’s literally nothing between him and Lewis.”
But Rooney thinks England should opt for Man Utd’s Luke Shaw.
He added: “We don’t need our full-backs to be the most attacking; we need them to defend.
“Keep the balance and let the attacking player win you the games.
“Luke Shaw can’t [attack] as much now, but what he can do is defend.”
