'Much better' - Liverpool star hailed for his improvements defensively after Arne Slot intervention
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Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold is currently dispelling the myth that he is a ‘bad defender’ with a brilliant start to the season.
Now over two months into the campaign under manager Arne Slot, the 26-year-old has shown tremendous improvements in his defensive play, be it concentration, overall quality and temperament - and that has caught the attention of the fans and critics alike.
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Hide AdWhereas people have been quick to jump on him for any mistakes, we’ve decided to do the opposite - and give him praise where he deserves it. Back in September, former Tottenham and Everton attacker Andros Townsend revealed why he believes that Alexander-Arnold catches more criticism than anyone else for his defensive play.
“People say he isn’t a good defender but his role in the Liverpool team is more focused on what he does going forward so, at times, he is caught out or people perceive he is caught out of position where it is somebody’s job to cover him, whether it’s a [Jordan] Henderson or Fabinho. People see Trent high up the pitch and a winger running through and think Trent can’t defend. But, one on one, he is a very competent defender.”
And now the figures are helping to provide the football world with a different narrative - he doesn’t just defend, but he does it extremely well. According to StatMuse, he has second-most tackles of any full-back in the league. In fact, against Brighton he made an eye-catching eight tackles, and there’s only been three games out of 10 in which he hasn’t completed a tackle.
The Rest Is Football podcast’s Gary Lineker discussed his improvements, saying that it is ‘much easier to learn to defend than it is to learn to pass the ball like him’ - and he was very complimentary after his weekend showing. “Slot has definitely come in and helped that side because, across the past few games, I’ve noticed defensively he’s been much better.”
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And the Liverpool defender has hailed his manager for helping him to improve in a short time of working together. “He helps me and teaches me a lot,” Liverpool’s vice-captain said. “He is strict with me, I like that. He helps me with the weak points in my game and he wants me to improve.”
Given that his defensive side is improving, it makes him an even more well-rounded player and one that can elevate to another level of quality. He remains at the forefront of passing quality in the Premier League, even from right-back, and it will be interesting to see how he continues to work at something he was previously crucified for at any given opportunity - where are those critics now?
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