Gary Neville has said that Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold has the ability to become ‘one of the greatest full-backs of all time’ if he can improve defensively.
The 24-year-old, who’s been revelling in his more advanced inverted full-back/midfield role in recent weeks, scored a thunderous goal in the Reds’ 3-0 win at Leicester last night, a result which maintains their push for a top-four finish.
He also provided a delightful dink to create a scoring opportunity for Cody Gakpo in the first half, which if converted into a goal could’ve been his seventh assist in eight games (Transfermarkt).
Speaking on Sky Sports‘ Monday Night Football after the match, Neville singled out Trent for praise over his ability in possession and claimed that Liverpool’s number 66 could go down as one of the best full-backs in history if he could tidy up on his defensive work.
The pundit said of the 24-year-old: “He’s been a key player for four or five years. His ability on the ball, and what he’s doing in terms of his contribution to Liverpool’s attack, is absolutely unprecedented. I’ve never seen a full-back have an impact on a team like he does from a point of view of his attacking play.
“It’s just sometimes in those games where he gets caught one-on-one or he just looks like he doesn’t do the basics well when they’re away from home or playing a massive match in Europe.
“If he was even just half a decent defender, he would be one of the greatest full-backs of all time, and still can be.”
Neville went on to debate whether Gareth Southgate could find a way to incorporate Trent into the England team the same way that Jurgen Klopp has done at Liverpool by giving him a freer role.
That’s a problem for the Three Lions manager to sort out. We’ll gladly settle for him continuing to work his magic in a red shirt at club level, just like he did last night with that venomous clinching goal.
You can see Neville’s full verdict on Trent below, via @SkySportsPL on Twitter:
"He would be one of the greatest full-backs of all-time, and still can be" ⏩@GNev2 believes if Trent Alexander-Arnold improved his defending he could go down as one of the greats 👇 pic.twitter.com/18dRpiFayq
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 15, 2023