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Gary Neville believes Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold could become the best right-back of all time.
Neville’s bold claim came after the 25-year-old scored a stunning goal in the Reds’ 1-1 draw with champions Manchester City on Saturday.
Jeremy Doku had some success against Alexander-Arnold in the first half. However, the defender enjoyed a much better second half and was later given the ‘Man of the Match’ following his impressive performance.
The 48-year-old, who won 85 caps for England, also admitted that the defender needs to work on one area of his game.
Gary Neville claims Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold could become the best right-back ever
Alexander-Arnold played a key role, and scored, in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City
‘His performances on the ball are absolutely out of this world. The difference between me and him is night and day – I can’t even relate to what he’s doing on the pitch,’ Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.
‘He’s playing in central midfield for 50-60 per cent of it, he’s going forward scoring goals, he’s setting up goals and assists. He’s achieving numbers that right wingers don’t achieve.
While the Manchester United legend was quick to praise the defender, he admitted that Alexander-Arnold needs to be a little more ‘serious’ about his defending.
‘He’s got the material to be the very best right-back of all time. But he’s going to have to be a little bit more serious about his defending because currently he struggles to get into the England team, or he has struggled. He will need to, when Liverpool and England are under the cosh, be able to be a resilient, tough defensive player as well.
‘That’s something I think he can add to his game. I don’t give up on the fact that he can be a very good defender.
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‘I think defending is not that difficult to learn compared to the bit of his game that he has got.’
Alexander-Arnold has played a key role for Jurgen Klopp’s side so far this season, playing 11 of their first 13 Premier League games.
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards also offered a similar verdict about the Englishman on Saturday.
Neville believes Alexander-Arnold needs to be a little more ‘serious’ about his defending
The 48-year-old believes the defender needs to be resilient for his club and country when called upon
‘For me today, we’ve seen the best and the worst of Trent today,’ he said.
‘From a full-back’s perspective, his first thought is always how can he affect the ball going forward?’
‘It’s the late runs like this one for the goal which are perfect for a player of his calibre and that is the evolution of the full-back. In my days, it was ‘get back in your position’, and he still has to do his job and defend properly but nowadays it’s so different.’
