‘I heard Gary’: Jurgen Klopp reacts to what Neville has said about his player

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Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Jurgen Klopp has responded to Gary Neville’s recent comments about Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The Sky Sports pundit recently questioned whether or not Gareth Southgate can trust Alexander-Arnold in a knockout game at the upcoming World Cup, but, understandably, Klopp has hit back at that suggestion.

Indeed, the Liverpool boss pointed towards the fact that Alexander-Arnold has played and defended well in a number of finals during his career, discrediting Neville’s view of his player.

Klopp defends Alexander-Arnold

The Liverpool manager responded to Neville’s comments.

“I heard Gary Neville said something about big games and knockout games that he can’t play. I’m not sure he said it or if someone wrote it out and changed the words a bit. I have no clue. Trent Alexander-Arnold is now 24 and he’s won a few finals. Those are important games where you have to defend. We’ve played against Chelsea last year, incredibly intense, against Tottenham, Real Madrid. He was always there and always defended well. I don’t know why we have that discussion,” Klopp said.

Ludicrous

Let’s look at the numbers.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is 24 years old and has won four cup competitions in his career. Kieran Trippier is 32 years old and hasn’t won a single cup competition in his career. It’s as simple as that.

When you ask who you can trust in knockout games, you only need to look at Alexander-Arnold’s record to tell you that he is a player who can absolutely be trusted.

Yes, he can have defensive lapses, but he’s never struggled in big games and let the occasion get to him.

Kyle Walker, of course, boasts an incredible cup record too, but with the Man City man unfit and likely to be used at centre-back, Alexander-Arnold remains the most reliable knockout performer at right-back in the England squad.