Garth Crooks told BBC Sport that questions were being asked as to why Trent Alexander-Arnold is in the Liverpool team at all following his mistake in Madrid.
The 22-year-old scored a stoppage-time winner for Liverpool over the weekend after they came from 1-0 down to overcome a battling Aston Villa 2-1 at Anfield.
Alexander-Arnold’s omission from the latest England squad has made him talk of the town, with some stating that they wouldn’t take him to the Euros because of his defensive fragilities, whilst others think he simply has to go because of his Kevin de Brunye-Esque talents going forward.
Crooks shared his thoughts on the ‘gifted’ Alexander-Arnold and how various opinions of him have been formed during these past few weeks.
“Last week against Arsenal he produced moments of magic and pundits (including myself) were asking why Alexander-Arnold had been left out of the England squad,” said Crooks.
“Three days later a mistake against Real Madrid had some asking why he is in the Liverpool team at all. The fact of the matter is, like all gifted footballers, he has good and bad moments.
“Against a dogged Aston Villa, who certainly know how to make life difficult for the opposition even when they are not playing great themselves, Alexander-Arnold scored a winning goal that very few full-backs in the world are capable of scoring.
“You don’t play for Liverpool having won European and Premier League titles and worry about what us pundits have to say.”
The only way TAA can answer his critics is by doing what he did on Saturday because that will then silence any doubters.
But that mistake in Madrid will still be fresh in TAA’s mind, but luckily for him, he has a chance to redeem himself.
Given that Liverpool will have to be on the front foot on Wednesday night, it might just suit his game and allow TAA to get the best out of himself.
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