Trent Alexander-Arnold was dribble pass 6 times by Vinicius Junior as Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 and 6-2 on aggregate to progress to the UCL quarter final. That performance has left a lot of questions being asked about Liverpool and their fate with Arnold as their right back.
Questions have been asked of the home-grown defender at Anfield ever since he made a senior breakthrough, with the general consensus being that he is happier going forward than he is being pushed back. That remains the case in 2022-23, with Vinicius Junior giving him a hard time in a Champions League last-16 encounter that saw Real Madrid prevail 6-2 on aggregate, with Carragher of the opinion that the time has come for Jurgen Klopp to reinforce his ranks in what can be a problematic area at times.
Carragher went on to say of a fellow Merseyside native: “I’ve always defended him in that he’s played for one of the best teams in the world, and when you play for one of the best teams in the world, as Liverpool are, you do a lot more attacking than you do defending. We all know his defending is not good enough, and I don’t think it will ever be good enough. We’re talking about a player who’s played 260 games; it’s not going to massively improve now. So, when Liverpool drop off and aren’t one of the best teams in Europe, like they have been for the last four years, now they’re one of the pack going for the Champions League, then you’re doing more defending, less attacking. You’re seeing the worst traits of Trent and now his strengths going forward. That is a massive problem.
“I thought this problem would rear its head when Klopp left and Liverpool dropped back to where they were when I was a player, most seasons trying to qualify for top four. If Liverpool are trying to qualify for the Champions League on a yearly basis, I’m not sure Trent’s your man at right-back. If Liverpool get back to being one of the best teams in Europe, which is what they’ll try to do next season, he is your man.”
