Gary Lineker has acknowledged that he becomes agitated when he sees Trent Alexander-Arnold, the fullback for Liverpool, criticized for his defense.
This weekend, the 25-year-old England international was the hero for the Reds as he scored the game-winning goal to dramatically win all three points for Liverpool against Fulham.
Alexander-Arnold is playing well for Liverpool, having stolen a point against Manchester City the week before. Lineker is now complimenting the defender on The Rest is Football.
The Match of the Day analyst, who spent his whole senior career playing right-back, nevertheless, took some time to express his annoyance at claims that Alexander-Arnold is a poor defender.
Lineker said: “He is a wonderful footballer. I mean, I have been a fan of his for many years. Everyone knows that, in fact from the first few times I saw him I used to think he has got to be a midfield player and I think he was a youngster. It was one of those situations where they see a talent and they think we will get him in the team but you can’t get him in his position.
“He ends up going to right-back and he was so good for so long that he became a right-back. It irritates me a little bit when people say he’s not very good at defending and every slight error or any goal that goes in on that side of the pitch against Liverpool.
“People have a pop at him but I think the positives of his forward play and his passing, I think he is certainly the best passer of the ball in the English game at the moment. And probably in a much bigger area than that, maybe even Europe. His range of passing, outside the foot, inside the foot, long passes and short passes and crosses, of course.
“But I’m loving him in this new role where he drifts into midfield. Gareth Southgate has tried him in midfield as well and I think that could work for England, alongside Rice, as Gareth likes to play two and you could play Bellingham in front of them.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold is aware his defending needs work
Alexander-Arnold and his defending being mocked seems to have been around ever since the fullback ever broke into the Liverpool first-team set-up.
Whilst there’s no denying that the England international needs to do some work on the defensive side of hos game, this won’t stop Alexander-Arnold from being arguably the best right-back in Premier League history.
Indeed, the 25-year-old is a technical genius and is one of the most unique talents English football has seen in quite some years given his abilities on the ball.
And once Alexander-Arnold elevates his defensive capabilities, there’s no limit to how influential the right-back can become for Liverpool.
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