Gary Neville backs ‘exceptional’ Trent Alexander-Arnold to learn from Andy Robertson

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Gary Neville believes Trent Alexander-Arnold should learn from Liverpool teammate Andy Robertson. The Scot find the balance, says Neville.

Trent Alexander-Arnold came under fire once again this weekend with a poor defensive performance. The Liverpool right-back looked isolated against Brighton and struggled to contain runs down that side.

Not that he was helped much. Alexander-Arnold was frequently isolated and found himself up against multiple players. Brighton’s opening goal, in fact, came as he covered two players on his own.

But even with that in mind, it’s clear that Alexander-Arnold is struggling. He’s not performing going the other way, either, with a worrying lack of creativity against Brighton.

Gary Neville thinks it’s largely a case of the Scouser failing to get the balance right in his position. While he’s ‘exceptional’ going forward, Alexander-Arnold doesn’t offer enough defensively and it throws everything off.

Fortunately, there’s already an ideal player to learn from at Liverpool.

“[He’s]ne of the most exceptional talents that you’ll ever see as a full-back on the ball, but I have said that there’s an example in his own team where I think the balance is right,” Neville told his podcast on Sunday. “That’s his left-back, [Andy] Robertson, who I think goes forward, plenty of assists, lots of passes into his strikers, lots of good play into midfield.

“But also, he’s competitive and good down that side in terms of his defending.”

Trent Alexander-Arnold to copy Liverpool teammate

Robertson has always had the balance right – Neville is absolutely correct there. The ‘problem’ is that he’s not as prolific creatively as Alexander-Arnold and Liverpool wouldn’t want to love out there.

Asking the right-back to sit deeper, concentrate more defensively and take fewer risks would affect his attacking game. There’s no doubt about that. And given Alexander-Arnold is the second-most creative player in the Premier League after Kevin De Bruyne, Liverpool would be a considerably worse team with any sort of drop-off going forward.

But perhaps that’s necessary. Things aren’t clicking in either direction for Alexander-Arnold right now and perhaps going safety-first and holding back a bit would help. Robertson is undoubtedly the archetype in that regard.

Ultimately, it’ll be Jurgen Klopp’s decision and it’s a massive one over the next few weeks. Especially with Arsenal and Manchester City around the corner.