Forget Mo Salah, Walcott says another Liverpool player looks worse after Trent Alexander-Arnold exit

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Alongside Mohamed Salah, Theo Walcott has suggested Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Anfield exit has made another Liverpool player look worse.

After two goals in eight Premier League matches this season, Paul Scholes has suggested that Salah has been ‘off the boil’ for the Reds in 2025/26.

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have clashed over the Liverpool forward’s struggles during the first few months of the season as well.

But it’s not just the Egyptian who has been off his game for the Premier League title holders this term.

Theo Walcott says Virgil van Dijk looks worse after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool exit

Speaking to The Overlap US, former Everton winger Theo Walcott suggested that, alongside Salah, Virgil van Dijk has also been impacted by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool departure.

He said: “This is the Salah point, which for me you look, his fullback was always Alexander-Arnold, it was Trent and he’d set it back, whip it in. He never made runs behind Salah, and as well, Virgil van Dijk always had that cover.

“And [people] go on about Trent not being the best defensively. However, he made Virgil into a better player because he was, he would delay it.”

The Dutchman has had several games to forget this season, most recently when Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-1.

Van Dijk caught Alexis Mac Allister with an elbow in the build-up to United’s opener and failed to track a run in behind.

It’s not the first time the Dutchman has made an error this term, as Wayne Rooney has been quick to point out.

Wayne Rooney issues concerning Virgil van Dijk verdict

Rooney accused Van Dijk of switching off versus the Red Devils and suggested he has done so on several occasions in 2025/26.

He said: “I thought Van Dijk for the first goal was really at fault. It was similar to the goal against Chelsea, where he’s gone for the initial header, and he’s gone into the back of [Alexis] Mac Allister.

“Then he didn’t switch on quick enough. I think he was first yards ahead of Mbeumo and he switched off, and Mbeumo has gone in behind him. We’ve seen that a lot this season.”

Despite being one of the most consistent performers in the Premier League for several years, the Dutchman is off his game, and Sol Campbell thinks there are several defenders better than Van Dijk currently.

They are the Arsenal duo of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, and Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven.