Alexander-Arnold snub can't blunt Liverpool's pleasant international break truth

All too often, international breaks are a source of frustration for fans, breaking up the Premier League season for fixtures often lacking importance and excitement which risk their club's brightest talents suffering injuries.

In keeping with that unfortunate tradition, England put in an uninspiring performance last Friday as they were relegated in the Nations League with a bland 1-0 defeat by Italy. During the fixture at San Siro, some Liverpool fans may have been tearing their hair out as Trent Alexander-Arnold languished on the bench.

Despite the Three Lions lacking any sort of cutting edge, Gareth Southgate left one of his best, most incisive passers as an unused substitute, drawing the wrath of Gary Lineker in the process. Three days later, ahead of Monday night's clash with Germany, the England manager further raised eyebrows by leaving Alexander-Arnold out of the squad entirely.

It marked the latest blow for the 23-year-old and all those keen to see him in action for his country. Yet Alexander-Arnold's disappointment should not detract too greatly from what has largely been a positive international break for Liverpool.

After a challenging start to the season which leaves them firmly in mid-table, the two-week interlude may have come at a welcome time for Jurgen Klopp's side as they search for marked improvement in the autumn. To that end, there are some encouraging signs for the Reds.

Virgil van Dijk, who struggled to live up to his lofty standards during the opening stages of the campaign, scored the winner as in-form Netherlands kept a second clean sheet in four days with a 1-0 victory over Belgium. The Dutchman joins Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota as one of the Liverpool players to have found the back of the net during the break.

Salah was at the double as Egypt recorded a convincing 3-0 victory over Niger on Friday, while Jota was on the scoresheet as Portugal thumped Czech Republic 4-0 the following day. Elsewhere, Luis Diaz - arguably Liverpool's standout performer this season - continued his momentum by helping Colombia put four past Guatemala on Sunday.

While it is pleasing to see players shining for their countries, equally-crucial for Klopp and Co. is the fact Liverpool have not suffered any injury issues during the international break - so far. The Reds have been decimated by players heading to the treatment room during the early swathes of the season but things are starting to look up ahead of the hectic October and November schedule, before the World Cup kicks off in Qatar.

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Naby Keita, Andrew Robertson and Ibrahima Konate were not called up for their respective national teams and the latter duo are expected to return to action shortly, perhaps even against Brighton on Saturday in some capacity. Further, Liverpool were handed an unexpected boost on Monday as Salah was released from Egypt duty, meaning Klopp's talisman will almost certainly be available to start against the Seagulls in what appears to be a challenging but must-win fixture.

So, although Alexander-Arnold's ongoing England woes will no doubt dominate headlines heading into the winter World Cup, Liverpool have plenty to be happy about regarding how recent international fixtures have panned out. The break could prove to be the just what the Reds need as they prepare for a run of 13 matches in less than a month and a half.

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