Liverpool star Alexander-Arnold RIPPED apart by Roy Keane | OneFootball

When he lined up at left-back for England against Finland in Helsinki last night in the UEFA Nations League, Trent Alexander-Arnold showed again why he is one of the best full-backs in the world.

After rarely playing under former manager Gareth Southgate, before being trialled in midfield during the opening games of this past summer’s Euros, Trent has now become a starter under interim manager Lee Carsley.

Last night it was at left-back. This came as a real surprise to many but, in classic Trent fashion, he got on with it.

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And he added to the attack as he always does. He registered a goal-creating action by finding Angel Gomes, who subsequently played in Jack Grealish for England’s opener, before sending a quite sensational free-kick into the top corner to make it 2-0.

He also stemmed Teemu Pukki’s attack, allowing Jack Grealish to win the ball back and set England on their way to a move that resulted in Declan Rice making it 3-0.

And yet the age-old take that Trent can’t defend reared its ugly head. Speaking on the ITV broadcast after the game, former Manchester United midfielder-turned-shouty-pundit Roy Keane made sure to note, “I can’t believe how bad he is defensively, and against better teams of course he’ll be found out.”

He gave kudos to Alexander-Arnold before this, saying. “You give time to Trent, his decision-making, his quality passing, he’s fantastic.”

Is Alexander-Arnold a bad defender?

Whilst it is an established narrative at this point, it feels like a lazy comment from Keane given the Liverpool man's performance in the game. He was integral to England’s victory and made no outstanding defensive errors.

The most notable ‘error’ of any kind came in a duel with Finnish attacker Fredrik Jensen, in which Alexander-Arnold challenged Jensen and the ball broke Jensen’s way, resulting in a shot blazed over the bar from a tight angle.

But Trent did his job there. He readjusted his position, challenged the ball and forced his opponent into a bad decision with poor execution.

The idea that he’ll get ‘found out’ against ‘better teams’, when he’s played in three Champions League finals and not made any noteworthy defensive errors in any of them points to criticism for criticism’s sake.

Many of the world’s top managers have shown their belief in Trent for years now and that is not by accident. And should he continue to start for England they will, as Liverpool have, be grateful for his presence.

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