Former England striker and current Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has revealed how much the criticism of one "world-class" Liverpool player irritates him.
Liverpool in Premier League title race
The Reds earned one of their most important and thrilling victories of the season so far on Sunday afternoon, winning 4-3 at home to Fulham in the Premier League. Jurgen Klopp's side were trailing heading into the dying minutes at Anfield, but Wataru Endo equalised with a long-range curler, before Trent Alexander-Arnold sent the home crowd wild with a brilliant winning strike.
It was the latest example of what a huge influence the 25-year-old is having this season, as he matures as a player after being made vice-captain by Klopp during the summer. It follows his vital equaliser at Manchester City the previous weekend, and he continues to grow into his hybrid right-back role.
Despite Alexander-Arnold's vast footballing ability, there always seems to be a determination from some to overly focus on the Liverpool star's supposed weak defending, with endless criticism coming his way in recent years, in particular.
Gary Lineker defends Trent Alexander-Arnold
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast with Alan Shearer and Micah Richards [via Rousing The Kop], Lineker explained how much the negativity towards Alexander-Arnold's defending annoys him.
"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."
Liverpool fans will love to hear this support for Alexander-Arnold from Lineker, who does appear to be the target of a witch-hunt at times, given the level of focus on his defending – something that the Reds hero has called "lazy" in the recent past.
Meanwhile, many of his contemporaries seem to get away with plenty in comparison, with little made of Aaron Wan-Bissaka switching off to allow Anthony Gordon to score in Newcastle United's win over Manchester United over the weekend, for example, or Kyle Walker letting Raheem Sterling get in front of him and score in Manchester City's 4-4 draw with Chelsea last month.
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Granted, there are times when Alexander-Arnold's defending can be disappointing, with a little more aggression and focus sometimes required in that area of his game, but the positives outweigh the negatives by a huge amount, with Barcelona legend Dani Alves describing him as a "world-class" player, which speaks volumes. Alexander-Arnold is a special footballer who should be a mainstay of Liverpool and England's team for years to come, and it's nice to see Lineker defending him.
