"His defensive play is that bad" – Gary Neville sets off on passionate rant on Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been far from his best this season.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has been far from his best this season.

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has expressed his opinion on Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold's performance in the Reds' 2-2 Premier League home draw against Arsenal on Sunday (April 9).

Liverpool came back from two goals down to shock the Premier League leaders at Anfield. Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus bagged a goal apiece before the half-hour mark, while Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino scored on either side of the break to restore parity.

Reds manager Jurgen Klopp engineered the thrilling comeback after opting to use Alexander-Arnold as an auxiliary midfielder in the second half. However, the right-back struggled defensively despite assisting Firmino's headed equalizer after nutmegging Arsenal's Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville shared his thoughts on Alexander-Arnold's outing during Liverpool's draw against Arsenal. He said:

"He was absolutely sensational going forward. I don't know what to say about him anymore because his defensive play is that bad. Some of the positions he takes up against Martinelli to defend a straight pass is schoolboy defending. I don't understand it at all."

Stating that Alexander-Arnold isn't fit to play in midfield, Neville added:

"But some of his attacking play, his deliveries and his courage to get on the ball despite those mistakes has got to be admired. I admire him enormously. Trent would drift into midfield given the freedom being at right-back gives him, but if he was actually to play in midfield away from home in the Premier League and he was getting the ball popped into him, that's a different ball game."

Backing the Liverpool star to shine at wing-back, Neville concluded:

"I think he can play wing-back. Jurgen Klopp tried to play him in a different position, he tried to pull him into midfield – Zinchenko-like, John Stones-like – but he could definitely play wing-back as there is a right-sided centre-back who can shift into the channel to deal with the straight balls. He doesn't need to become the best defender in the world. He just cannot be a liability on the pitch."

Arnold had a good game in the attacking third as he proved to be a menace on the right-hand side. He sent in six accurate crosses, creating four chances. He also came close to scoring with a long range effort in the second half.

Wolves likely to accept £50 million bid for 24-year-old Liverpool-linked star: Reports

According to Football Insider, Wolverhampton Wanderers are prepared to offload Matheus Nunes this summer despite removing his release clause of £44 million. They are expected to accept a £50 million offer.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are reportedly pushing to sign the Portuguese midfielder after failing to sign him last summer. They are big admirers of Nunes, who was named in the 2021-22 Primeira Liga Team of the Year while playing for Sporting CP.

Nunes, 24, joined Julen Lopetegui's side from Sporting CP for a club-record £38 million last summer. He has scored a goal and laid out an assist in 2163 minutes so far this campaign, spread across 31 games. His last goal was an incredible long-range effort against Frank Lampard's Chelsea, which helped Wolves win the game 1-0 on Saturday.

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Edited by Diptanil
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