Franck Leboeuf, a former Chelsea defender and World Cup winner, doesn’t appear to be impressed with Trent Alexander Arnold’s defensive prowess for Liverpool.
Leboeuf said that while Arnold’s offensive talent from the right flank is World Class, his defensive skills may be comparable to that of a Championship player.
Arnold has been the wingback with more assists, although opponents have often caught him off unprepared defensively.
He left Vinicius Jr. unmarked and allowed him to score the game-winning goal when Real Madrid faced Liverpool in the Champions League final last season.
When Manchester United defeated Liverpool by a score of two to one in the Premier League, players from Manchester United targeted him and made use of his wing to attack Liverpool. He was noticed moving around and making fewer contributions.
For Jordan Sancho’s first-half goal, he was held accountable. Even when Liverpool faced Napoli in the Champions League, he showed little enthusiasm for assisting the defense.
Jurgen Klopp’s style of play has covered up for the defender as Klopp made sure that the two center backs do more of the defending.
Gareth Southgate, the England manager, now prefers to deploy right backs who are good offensively and defensively, pushing Arnold down the pecking order.
If Arnold does not improve his games, Southgate is likely to leave him off the World Cup roster because he is now behind Kylie Walker, Reece James, and Tripper.
Franck Leboeuf has acknowledged that in order to break Arnold out of his poor form, he would like to speak with him one-on-one.
He has also urged the defender to “work on the basics” in order to regain his best form.
He said: ”I want to bring him along so we can focus on the fundamentals. He should turn around and gaze behind him since things are already getting better, I would advise him.”
What Next For Alexander-Arnold
The Liverpool defender will be in contention to represent England in the Nations League against Germany on September 26, 2022. After that he will also be available for Liverpool against Brighton on October 1, 2022.
