“If he was not a good defender, he would not play”- Liverpool boss yet again shields Trent Alexander-Arnold over defending criticism
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Trent Alexander Arnold and Jurgen Klopp
Trent Alexander-Arnold has received vociferous support from Jürgen Klopp, who contends that anyone who criticises the “world-class” right-back is misinformed about how Liverpool operate.
In response to Gareth Southgate’s decision to leave Alexander-Arnold out of the England team that played Germany and his opinion that Kieran Trippier has a better “all-around game” than the 24-year-old, the Liverpool manager declined to get involved in a public debate.
Along with the rest of the Liverpool team, Klopp acknowledged that his right-back’s defence needs to get better, but he thinks Alexander-Arnold is being unfairly judged on that one aspect of his performance when his overall contribution is unique. The criticism has the manager of Liverpool perplexed.
Also Read: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp handed one-match touchline ban for Manchester City game rant
Jürgen Klopp’s Response to the Media criticisms on Trent Alexander Arnold:
“When we do a high press Trent is often the highest of all those at the back. That is the way we play football,” Klopp said at his press conference for Saturday’s home game against Brighton. “Now, you can say: ‘You should defend better,’ but you cannot have everything because if you want to play high press you need players in specific positions.”
“Yes, there are other situations where he was not aware or there was a challenge he should have won. Every player has these challenges. But with him? Every time it is picked up and analysed, all the experts say this is a weakness. Honestly, I just don’t get it. A world-class talent gets judged by the one thing he is not as world class at as the other things? If he was not a good defender, he would not play.”
Alexander-Arnold, in Klopp’s opinion, has suffered as a result of a general decline in Liverpool’s defensive standard, but the manager is adamant that no right-back in the history of the game comes close to the club’s homegrown talent.
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Ujan Chakraborty
(1240 Articles Published)