Gary Neville praised a Liverpool player after the Manchester City game, but it’s nothing new for Jurgen Klopp.
Trent Alexander-Arnold celebrates after scoring Liverpool’s equalizer against Manchester City.
Prepare for a shock, Trent Alexander-Arnold is a very good defender. If you’ve been following him for the past seven years, that’s probably no surprise.
In the end, “Liverpool” still became champions of the Premier League, Europe and the world.
But as we prepare for Saturday’s game against Manchester City, you’d be forgiven for thinking you can imagine all those amazing performances.
What happened on the way to the Etihad was that Jeremy Doku-Alexander-Arnold’s full-back career is over for good and we all have to succumb to Gareth Southgate’s mentality and accept that he can only be a midfielder.
Mann: It didn’t work that way. Alexander-Arnold was awarded the Man of the Match award by Sky Sports’ Gary Neville, who knows a thing or two about playing right-back. It was not a symbolic gift after the equalizing goal.
“His performance on the ball is out of this world,” Neville later said on his podcast. “The difference between him and me is night and day. I can’t even imagine what he does on the field.“He plays 50-60% of the time in central midfield and continues to score, score and assist. We have reached a milestone that right-wing parties cannot reach.“He has what it takes to be the greatest defender of all time.
But he needs to get more serious defensively as he is currently fighting for a place in the England squad. He should also be a resilient and strong defensive player when Liverpool and England are under pressure. “I think he can add something to his game.
I won’t deny that he can be a very good defender. “Compared to that, I don’t think learning defense is difficult.”Neville would be wise not to drop right-back Alexander-Arnold. Of course, Jurgen Klopp doesn’t. Some observers interpret his shift to a reversed role as a sign that his position has softened. “Why would you turn the best defender in the world into a midfielder?” Klopp was stunned after Southgate made his first attempt to sign Alexander-Arnold in 2021. “I really don’t understand.
The right back position doesn’t seem to be as important as the others.“When people say I’m trying to understand your thoughts. Some people think he would have had more of an impact if he played 10 meters up.
“It’s very difficult for me to be more influential than Trent Alexander-Arnold, who played last time, and I have to work hard to find someone. “We’ll try to adapt and use his skills, but at the end of the day the right-back protects the right-back and he does a really good job.
When we have the ball, we make the most of it.”The person himself plays only where he should play. We know he has the ability to play any position, be it right back, midfielder or a combination of the two.
“I think the idea of moving to midfield and playing in the middle is still in my head,” Alexander-Arnold said earlier this month (via the BBC ). “Everybody sees the game differently. I’ve always had a dream [to become a creator] and when I first moved to guard, I wanted to change not only the game in general, but the way it was played specifically for me.
“How can I get the most out of myself doing those things, how can I still perform at the level that I need and expect from myself, and how can I bring those things into the game in a defensive role.
It changes the way people understand and see roles.”I’m sure the role of central defense will be the same. “I want to do something on the pitch, I want to do what I’m told and I’m sure that whatever the role, I’ll find a way to do it.
“Alexander-Arnold’s story does not end here. These debates will never go away in football.
