Speaking on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily Podcast, Jermaine Jenas has discussed Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool form, concluding that he still has to be one of the first names on the teamsheet despite his struggles.
Alexander-Arnold has cemented himself as one of the best full-backs in world football over the past couple of years, breaking the Premier League assists record for a defender, but it’s fair to say he hasn’t been at the races this season.
Indeed, Alexander-Arnold has struggled as of late along with a number of his Liverpool teammates, but Jenas believes that he should just play through it.
“The function of his role on that right hand side may have changed slightly, and it’s just made his confidence drop and he needs to take that extra touch every now and then and he can’t just do things without looking,” Jenas said.
“Look, there’s no doubt that he’s going through a bit of a spell right now, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say. I don’t think he’s in that place basically where I think he’s a youngster, which is strange to say because he’s only 22.
“But he has to play, he’s that good, he’s that good he has to play. There are certain games where he could have been rested, whether that would have helped or not I don’t know, I can’t figure out whether it’s a fatigue thing or if it’s just the team isn’t functioning right and he’s suffering the most within the team not playing well.”
It’s a really tough call for Jurgen Klopp to make.
One one hand, Alexander-Arnold is one of Liverpool’s best players, and on that basis he should start every week, but he’s been playing non-stop football from a very young age, and with the way the football calendar has been in the past 12 months, he’s not had much of a break.
Jenas says fatigue may be playing a factor, and that is a real possibility for Alexander-Arnold, and while Jenas says he has to play, perhaps an FA Cup tie is a good chance for him to get some well-earned rest this weekend.
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