On Friday afternoon, England's squad announcement caused a bit of a stir.

Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold was expected to feature for the Three Lions in their World Cup qualifiers this month, but he was surprisingly dropped by manager Gareth Southgate.

It's a decision that's sparked a lot of debate on Twitter, with top journalists doubting whether the call made by the England boss was the correct one.

The Mirror's John Cross posted on the social media platform: "The omission of Trent Alexander-Arnold is the shock story. I’m staggered. Liverpool have had a difficult season but TAA been very good in recent weeks imo. Been such an important player, I’m surprised he’s been axed now. Seems very harsh."

Adam Crafton of The Athletic added: "He’s had dips in form (wait till you see Trippier’s dips in form, Gareth!) but the idea you wouldn’t want to be working in training at least with TAA in the last camp pre major tournament is baffling to me. He’s also been better the past few weeks imo."

We're just as surprised as they are to be honest, despite the fact England are blessed with a wealth of talented options at right-back.

Reece James, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker are all fine players, but there's no doubting that Alexander-Arnold is the superior footballer of the four.

That's why a number of fans are baffled by Southgate's bold decision and you can check out some of the best reaction below.

Fans react

You can understand why they are a tad bemused by Alexander-Arnold's omission.

While it's been far from his best season at Liverpool, the 22-year-old has shown noticeable signs of improvement in recent weeks.

Barring serious injury, Alexander-Arnold will be an England regular for many years to come, so why alienate him such a short amount of time before a major international tournament?

If Southgate was picking players strictly on form, Eric Dier would be nowhere near the squad, however, the Tottenham man has made the cut ahead of Everton's Michael Keane.

The Alexander-Arnold saga could come back to haunt the England manager down the line...