Coming off the back of yet another stellar campaign for Liverpool, Trent Alexander-Arnold has been vilified by both fans and pundits alike for his shoddy defensive displays this season.
The England international has been given nightmares by a whole host of sides so far this term, and has been singlehandedly responsible for several of the Reds’ goals conceded.
As teams have seemingly targeted the 24-year old, Napoli followed suit in their 4-1 thrashing of the Merseyside-based outfit as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia tormented the decorated defender from minute one.
While much of the same was expected ahead of Liverpool’s 2-0 win against the Serie A giants, Alexander-Arnold managed to keep the Georgian winger quiet for a majority of the clash on Tuesday night.
Jurgen Klopp singled out Trent Alexander-Arnold for his much-improved showing against one of the most feared wide players in Europe currently in the aftermath of the game.
“A good player (Kvaratskhelia) and I thought Trent played a really good game against him, he was really on fire, he was really in, didn’t get frustrated by one or two situations where he was second-best, stayed in the game and I liked Trent’s game tonight”, he told reporters, as relayed by GOAL.
While the Englishman’s defensive game has always been criticised by many, it has never been quite as under scrutiny as it has been this season.
So much so that many have gone as far as to label Alexander-Arnold as lazy for not tracking his runners and remaining static in situations where Liverpool have been under the cosh this season.
However, litmus tests do not come any tougher for right-backs than going head-to-head against Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s spirited showing may be a sign that his defensive game is on the up.
With the Liverpool hero known to be a phenomenon going forward, more such solid displays could transform him into the ultimate right-back.
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