Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is now coming in for too much criticism from supporters.
That’s the view of TalkSPORT duo Jason Cundy and Jamie O’Hara. Speaking to the radio station after Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat against Real Madrid last night, Cundy led the calls for people to lay off Trent.
“This hating on Trent feels like he’s getting a little out of hand you know. Even Liverpool fans are turning on him,” said the former Chelsea man.
“I agree, he was playing against one of the best players in the world tonight. Vinicius Jnr is awesome,” replied O’Hara.
“Yeah. He has his strengths, as every player does. He has his strengths, he has his limitations. Yeah, defensively he can go to sleep a little bit and he can look a bit vulnerable. But there was a ball first-half he played over the top, I think it was to Salah. It’s like a beautifully weighted ball, nice little bit of bend on it, bit of back-spin to make sure it runs into Salah’s path beautifully,” argued Cundy.
“He’s a wonderful passer of the ball. There aren’t many better full-backs passing of the ball than he is and he comes in for a lot of clobber.”
Trent criticism comes full circle
This is incredibly ironic. Pundits such as Cundy and O’Hara are the very same ones who have been completely over-the-top in their criticism of Trent all season.
Had they and those of their ilk ever thought to temper their reactions, perhaps others wouldn’t be so exaggerated, too. That thought possibly hasn’t occurred to them, though.
What they say is of course absolutely true. It has been all season long. 2022/23 will go down as the comfortably the worst of Alexander-Arnold’s career so far. Not only have Liverpool failed to win anything, but he’s also been below-par on personal level, too.
But some of the things written and said about him have been ridiculous. This is a player who played in three Champions League finals by the age of twenty-three, winning one. A Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Super Cup and Club World Cup winner, Trent is truly a generational talent.
You don’t go from that to becoming a bad player overnight and most people can appreciate that. Although his form does deserve scrutiny and there are things he can surely work on, the positives far outweigh the negatives. Alexander-Arnold has quickly become the unwanted poster-boy for Liverpool’s spineless season. But that’s wholly unfair. Expect him to show that just as soon as he can.