Shortly after the hour mark in England's recent game against San Marino, former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon felt the need to make a dig at Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The pundit spotted Reece James warming up on the sidelines and predicted the Chelsea full-back would get subbed on for Trent.
"We see James getting ready to come on and it looks like Trent Alexander-Arnold might come off," Dixon said on ITV during the game, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
"His body language is not great. It’s been a difficult evening.
"It looks like he’s just tried a bit too hard. His passing hasn’t been quite right. Been caught in possession a few times.
"I think it’s only natural with all the speculation of whether he should be in the team or not."
England were 7-0 up at that time.
Reece James ended up replacing Harry Kane, while Trent went on to assist three consecutive England goals, taking the score to 10-0.
And that forced Dixon to backpedal on his claims about the Liverpool full-back.
"We know the quality that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s got," Dixon said after Mings' goal saw Trent grab his first assist. "It looked a little bit behind him.
"It was a really good header. [He] gets ahead of it and then just waits and guides it into that far corner. The pace of the ball did the job."
Trent then set up Tammy Abraham's goal and Dixon was quick to compliment the Liverpool man.
'It’s a lovely ball in, the cushion on his knee just softs so it drops onto his foot. Great little ball in that," he said.
"Just a little soft touch there to set himself up. Defender can’t get anything on it. Great ball, that is, right into the space."
Trent then provided his third and final assist of the night to Bukayo Saka, prompting further praise from Dixon.
"Body language of Trent Alexander-Arnold there, smiling," the former defender said. "This is what he can bring to a team.
"Superb quality on the ball putting the ball into the danger area with the right amount of pace, right type of cross.
"Just a little dink and Saka’s just waiting for it. Defence is all over the shop but the delivery is superb."
All this praise is of course nice but what was the point of slamming Trent after an hour play when England were 7-0?
Anyway, it was lovely to see Alexander-Arnold making haters look like fools on Monday. Another hat-trick of assists against Lee Dixon's beloved Arsenal on Saturday would be a great way to silence those who still doubt his quality!
