MANCHESTER UNITED legend Gary Neville has named the FOUR things Trent Alexander-Arnold needs to do in order to improve his defending.
The Liverpool right-back has been criticised in recent weeks, particularly following the Reds’ 3-3 draw with Brighton on Saturday where he was brutally exposed.
And former right-back Neville, who made more than 600 appearances for Manchester United and 85 for England, feels there are some specific areas that Alexander-Arnold needs to address.
They are the following:
- Improve one-on-one defending
- Sprint back when Liverpool lose the ball
- Work on body shape
- Be more aware of danger
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “I know I was a very poor full-back at 20.
“I’d been a centre-back, I couldn’t defend one-vs-one, I didn’t know how to hold my position on that side, I didn’t know my distances.
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“I certainly didn’t know where my body shape should be and I had to learn all those things over a two or three-year period.”
Neville then went on to explain how he was coached to sprint back into position immediately when United lost the ball.
He insists this is something Alexander-Arnold does not currently do as he “ambles” back when Liverpool relinquish possession.
The ex-Man Utd star then discussed the Liverpool man improving in one-on-one situations and getting low when faced up against an attacker – like “a tiger ready to pounce”.
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And the final point Neville made was that he needs to be more aware of danger because he can be caught ball-watching.
If Alexander-Arnold is able to improve all those four aspects of his game, Neville believes he can be a truly “special” player.
He went on: “So, if he can just work on those four basic things, we won’t just have one of the best attacking right-backs we’ve ever produced, we’ll have probably the best right back the world has ever produced.
“Because this is a Cafu. This is that level of full-back. This is something unbelievably special.
“And this is an important juncture in his career, where you say right, what does he do? Does he think ‘I don’t have to do that’, ‘I don’t want to do that?’
“I would urge him just to work for two months, three months, four months. There might be a negative in him not going to the World Cup.
“But that might be the biggest positive in his career if he has five to six weeks here just literally being coached and working on these things. He’s someone I think is absolutely unbelievable.”
Alexander-Arnold is currently in a fight to be included in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man England squad for the World Cup.
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He was included in the most recent squad for the Nations League games against Italy and Germany, but did not feature in either match.
Fellow English right-backs Kyle Walker, Reece James and Kieran Trippier all appear to be ahead of him in Southgate’s thinking less than two months out from the start of the tournament.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
