Football
Arne Slot Says Trent Alexander-Arnold Not Responsible For Liverpool Goals Conceded
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Get to know James Chittick betterPublished10 Jan 2025
Liverpool boss Arne Slot has defender Trent Alexander Arnold and says he is not to blame for the goals his side have conceded.
The Reds manager says he understands the patterns leading to the goals Liverpool let in, but does not blame Trent Alexander-Arnold.
England fullback Trent took heavy criticism after Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United.
Both United goals were from attacks down Liverpool’s right flank, where Alexander-Arnold was defending.
Opta’s stats show opposition teams have 44% of their touches on the left side of the attacking third.
This is the highest ratio in the Premier League. Furthermore, 35.7% of opposition chances against Liverpool occur on the left (Liverpool’s right) compared with just 26.2% on the Reds’ left-hand side.
But despite both the stats and the eye test suggesting Trent Alexander-Arnold is suspect defensively, his manager has spoken out the defend him.
Arne Slot Backs Trent Alexander-Arnold
Speaking about Trent’s supposed defensive issues, Arne Slot was defiant in of his player.
He said: “I do see a certain pattern in the goals we concede but I don’t see the pattern if it is about Trent. Not at all.
“Trent has had one difficult game for us [against Man United] and maybe a few that were OK to good. Mainly, he has had great games when he played for us this season.”
Alexander-Arnold, 26, is out of contract at Anfield this summer. He has been heavily tipped for a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid.
But Arne Slot says people should focus on his quality. In particular, Slot was impressed by his substitute appearance in Liverpool’s 1-0 EFL Cup defeat to Tottenham.
“I know there is a lot of focus on him at the moment but I would also like to highlight the focus on how well he did when he came on in the last half hour [against Tottenham] and how our fans reacted to him. That is what pleased me even more during that game.”
Liverpool’s next game is their FA Cup third round tie against Accrington Stanley, which kicks off at 12:15pm on Saturday 11 January.