Topics: Football World Cup, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Gareth Southgate, Liverpool
Liverpool and England defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has been lauded for his mature response to a difficult question ahead of the Three Lions’ opening game of the World Cup against Iran on Monday.
In an interview with ITV Sport on the eve of the tournament in Qatar, Alexander-Arnold was asked how well he thinks he has defended this season, to which the 24-year-old gave a highly articulate and professional response.
The last few months has seen the talented right-back’s defensive capabilities called into question on more than one occasion by pundits, fans and journalists alike, who believe that for all his on-the-ball quality, his ability off the ball leaves a lot to be desired.
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Games against Brighton in the Premier League and Napoli in the Champions League, in particular, have brought Alexander-Arnold into the firing line, with criticism over his defending often overshadowing the attacking contributions he makes in Jurgen Klopp’s team.
Klopp has always staunchly defended his player, but with England manager Gareth Southgate blessed with a vast array of options at right-back, there were doubts as to whether the Premier League winner would make the 26-man squad for the World Cup.
Injuries to Reece James and Kyle Walker all but cemented Trent’s place on the plane to Qatar, however, the debate about his defending continues.
“I would say there’s been a lot of spotlight on it,” he told ITV.
“I’d say there’s been a massive magnifying glass on that aspect of my game.
“I would say for me, like any part of my game, I think there’s improvements to be made. There’re decisions that I could have made better. There’re instances where I could have defended a lot better.
“But at the same time I think there have been instances where I’ve defended really well.
“I think a lot of people like to shout about the mistakes and the ones that I could have done better on rather than the ones I have defended well on.
“That’s just the way it is. You defend three well and then one bad and they have a big chance and then there it is; I’ve had a bad defensive game.”
The interview appears to have gone down well with fans online, who praised the maturity of Alexander-Arnold’s response.
“Trent answered perfectly,” one posted on Twitter.
“It’s a great question and great response,” another wrote.
While a third added: “I was saying the same thing he was before he started talking. Very clever answer.”
