Knives are out for Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold already this season.
The Reds dropped two points in their Premier League opener away to Fulham on Saturday, with both outfits playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw.
Liverpool fell behind to a towering Aleksandar Mitrovic header in the first half, with Jim Beglin speaking via commentary that Alexander-Arnold didn’t even jump to attempt to contest his Serbian counterpart.
It was an excellent header from the Cottager but, by the same token, you could argue that the 23-year-old could – and should – have done better.
There’s no denying that this is a world-class attacking footballer with the ball at his feet but, once again, there appears to be question marks over his defensive ability.
And World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf has delivered a balanced, yet scathing, assessment about the player.
He told ESPN: “Well I think we have to make a statement. Alexander-Arnold is absolutely fantastic when he has the ball and he’s really poor when he has to defend. That’s what it is and it’s no offence to say that.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold has taken his fair share of criticism down the years but the fact it’s for this exact reason says either one of two things.
The England international is either been harshly and unfairly criticised for his defending, or he simply isn’t getting any better in this department and it’s difficult to isolate the exact reason.
There’s no doubt that Alexander-Arnold is definitely better going forward than he is coming back but, by the same token, he is an integral player for one of Europe’s best teams and therefore perhaps it’s fair to deduce that despite the criticism, it’s exaggerated.
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