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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp launched a passionate defence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, telling his critics he will “knock them down”.
Goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino secured the Reds a 2-0 win over Arsenal on Wednesday, a result that moved the Reds to within a point of Manchester City at the summit in a tightly contested Premier League title race.
But before the visitors took hold of the game at Emirates Stadium, Alexander-Arnold found himself on the wrong end of several smart Arsenal breaks spearheaded by Gabriel Martinelli.
Klopp, however, remained highly defensive of the right-back’s efforts, hailing his capabilities and insisting any player can have difficulties defending against a player with the talents of Martinelli.
“If anyone says Trent can’t defend, they should come to me and I’ll knock them down,” he told Sky Sports. “I cannot hear that anymore, I don’t know what the boy has to do.
“Both teams had spells of possession where the other team was patient, closing the centre, didn’t want to step out but we had to.
“In the moment where we defended forward like in the second half, the wingers defended the width. apart from the diagonal balls to Martinelli, which Trent defended incredibly.
“Martinelli is such a talented boy, it’s really tricky [to defend against him].”
Alexander-Arnold has often figured as a critical flashpoint for pundits and fans away from Merseyside over the past few years, arguably due to the heavy competition for his spot in the England national team setup.
Having been dropped at the start of 2021 by Gareth Southgate, he earned a recall for Euro 2020, only to miss out on the tournament through injury.
Alexander-Arnold is expected to be included when Southgate names his latest squad on Thursday, ahead of the Three Lions’ friendlies with Switzerland and the Ivory Coast.
