Roy Keane couldn’t quite believe who Jamie Carragher suggested as a potential Premier League Player of the Year candidate among the current Liverpool squad.
With the campaign having just passed its midway point, the topic as to who’s been the best in the division so far cropped up on the latest episode of Sky Sports’ Stick to Football series.
The former Reds defender said: “You’ve got to look at the top teams – City, Liverpool, Arsenal. I think Trent Alexander-Arnold would be near the top at the moment.”
The mention of the 25-year-old’s name duly triggered Keane, who scoffed: “I can’t believe how bad he is at defending. The guy has played a lot of games in defence; it’s like he’s never played in the position before. It’s amazing how many people just run past him, but in possession he’s brilliant.”
At this stage the ‘Trent can’t defend’ narrative from pundits is just boring and lazy, as if they can’t see how influential he’s been on this table-topping Liverpool team overall.
The vice-captain has actually won the joint-most tackles out of any Reds player in the Premier League this season (18) and made more than any of his teammates in the defensive third of the pitch (17), along with the second-most interceptions (22) at Anfield, as per FBref.
Even if he does occasionally still get beaten in dribbles by direct opponents, the 25-year-old has undeniably been one of our most important players over the past couple of months – since the 4-0 win over LASK at the end of November, he’s chipped in with two goals and seven assists in 10 appearances (Transfermarkt).
Maybe Keane should take the facts into consideration before resorting to well-worn stereotypes for a standout soundbyte.
You can view the pundits’ debate below (from 35:28), via The Overlap on YouTube: