Gary Neville seriously worried by 24-year-old Liverpool player’s positioning vs Tottenham

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Gary Neville wasn’t impressed with Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold’s positioning against Tottenham Hotspur today.

Commentating on the game for Sky Sports, one first-half moment in particular stood out to Neville.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s role in the Liverpool side has changed in recent weeks.

Instead of playing as a traditional overlapping right-back, he’s been sitting further infield when Liverpool have the ball.

It’s certainly helped the Reds going forward, with Alexander-Arnold recording six assists in Liverpool’s last five league games.

Considering he only laid on two goals before April in the Premier League, it’s a massive improvement.

However, Neville is still concerned about Alexander-Arnold’s positioning when Liverpool don’t have the ball.

He was nearly caught out by Son Heung-min before half-time.

Even though he’s not sitting quite as far up the pitch as before, he still suffers from a few lapses in concentration.

Son’s goal in the second-half saw him ghost in behind the right-back and Ibrahima Konate when the rest of the defensive line had dropped deeper.

It’s something the 24-year-old needs to iron out of his game quickly.

Neville worried about Liverpool star Alexander-Arnold

Tottenham’s South Korean forward nearly beat their offside trap, with Alexander-Arnold leaving him to run offside.

Neville wasn’t impressed with how he defended the attack and said: “Jamie Redknapp mentioned before the game about not liking the Trent Alexander-Arnold [role] in midfield.

“I have to say, it’s a band-aid solution. Playing without a right-back just because he struggles to defend.

“He [Son Heung-min] was just offside, but Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defending there.

“What a massive risk that is, you follow the run to make sure you’re near enough to the player even if you’re just letting him run offside, so you can get back with him.

“He’s only a whisker offside.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, contrary to what Gary Neville said, believes Alexander-Arnold’s defending has improved recently.

The defender’s ability means he’s definitely a player Klopp could end up building his team around.

When given the ball, he can create chances few other footballers are able to see, let alone execute.

Whether he’ll ever be able to fully overcome his defensive lapses remains to be seen.

However, he’ll always put the ball on a plate for a Liverpool attacker if given half a yard of space in attack.