Gary Lineker has admitted that he gets irritated when he hears Liverpool fullback Trent Alexander-Arnold’s being criticised over his defending.
The England international was the hero for the Reds this weekend as the 25-year-old scored the winning goal to secure all three points for Liverpool against Fulham in dramatic fashion.
Having snatched a draw for Liverpool against Manchester City a week prior,
Alexander-Arnold is in fine form, with Lineker now praising the defender via The Rest is Football.
However, the Match of the Day pundit also took time to vent his frustration over criticisms that Alexander-Arnold is a bad defender, despite playing at right-back his entire senior career.
Liverpool man Alexander-Arnold need to work on his defending
Lineker said: “He is a wonderful footballer. I mean, I have been a fan of his for many years. Everyone knows that, in fact from the first few times I saw him I used to think he has got to be a midfield player and I think he was a youngster.
It was one of those situations where they see a talent and they think we will get him in the team but you can’t get him in his position.
“He ends up going to right-back and he was so good for so long that he became a right-back. It irritates me a little bit when people say
He’s not very good at defending and every slight error or any goal that goes in on that side of the pitch against Liverpool.
“People have a pop at him but I think the positives of his forward play and his passing,
I think he is certainly the best passer of the ball in the English game at the moment. And probably in a much bigger area than that, maybe even Europe. His range of passing, outside the foot, inside the foot, long passes and short passes and crosses, of course.
“But I’m loving him in this new role where he drifts into midfield. Gareth Southgate has tried him in midfield as well and I think that could work for England, alongside Rice,
As Gareth likes to play two and you could play Bellingham in front of them.”
