Kyle Walker says quotes from Trent Alexander-Arnold have been ‘floating around’ at Manchester City ahead of the clash with Liverpool. The Scouser ruffled feathers.
Trent Alexander-Arnold gave everyone – particularly football journalists – something to talk about this week. He compared success at Liverpool to that of Manchester City, suggesting winning with the Reds was worth more.
“We’re up against a machine that’s built to win – that’s the simplest way to describe City and their organisation,” Alexander-Arnold told FourFourTwo.
“Looking back on this era, although they’ve won more titles than us and have probably been more successful, our trophies will mean more to us and our fanbase because of the situations at both clubs, financially.
“How both clubs have built their teams and the manner in which we’ve done it, probably means more to our fans.”
Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias gave much-publicised responses to those comments this week, with both asked by journalists to give their impression. Their responses led to a few claims that Alexander-Arnold may have rattled City a bit with his take – though, of course, the players were just responding to questions.
But Kyle Walker revealed on Rio Ferdinand’s Five podcast that the players are actually talking about those comments regardless.
“I’m not even getting involved in that,” said Walker when asked for his own impression. “It’s been floating around the changing room today.”
You certainly can’t discredit City’s success – they’re a team that always gives 115 per cent and that’s very difficult for other teams to compete with. But it’s hard to argue with Alexander-Arnold’s point.
Liverpool, after all, are not a team built by going out to sign players for record amounts every summer. They’ve had a few major transfers, of course, but not on City’s level.
And so when you’ve got a juggernaut to compete with, winning means more than when you are that juggernaut. Is that really debatable?
