Gary Neville has slammed Liverpool duo Trent Alexander-Arnold and Thiago Alcantara for their role in Arsenal’s second goal on Sunday.
The Reds lost 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium despite goals from Darwin Nunez and Roberto Firmino twice catching the Gunners.
The defeat for Mikel Arteta’s men leaves Liverpool tenth in the Premier League, with defending champions Manchester City their next Premier League opponents.
Liverpool now face a challenge to qualify for the Champions League after Jurgen Klopp kicked them out of title contention.
Some of their players, who were extremely reliable last season, have become error-prone this term, with Neville picking Alexander-Arnold and Thiago for criticism against Arsenal.
For Arsenal’s second goal, Kostas Tsimikas was shorthanded with Alexander-Arnold moving as Gabriel Martinelli burst into the box, leaving Bukayo Saka free at the far post.
And Neville slammed Alexander-Arnold and his Liverpool team-mate Thiago for their role at Arsenal taking a 2-1 lead.
“They get a counterattack. It’s not good enough from Thiago. I congratulated him throughout the first half. I have no idea what Trent Alexander-Arnold is doing here, I have to say,” Neville said. sky sports.
“Once he crosses over there and does that, he leaves Tsimikas in the middle isolated all alone. The Liverpool right-back is going through and it’s just not enough.
Neville is confident Alexander-Arnold can become one of England’s greatest full-backs, but insists the Liverpool defender needs to learn a number of things.
Neville said sky sports Last week: “I watched the goals against Brighton and there was a big conversation during Jurgen Klopp’s press conference about Trent Alexander-Arnold. Klopp defended him but I think he was involved in Brighton’s three goals on Saturday.
“I wanted to do a play on Alexandre-Arnold on Monday night football for a long time. Trent is no longer a young player. He’s young for his age but he actually has 250 appearances for Liverpool and England. It’s a mountain of games to have.
“What still surprises me when I look at him are three or four of the very basic things about the back game…
“These things can be taught in training and practiced every day because I was a bad full-back at 20.
“What we know now is that you can’t be a full-back in the modern game without having the ability to go forward.
“It’s almost impossible. You are now expected to be good on the ball in the future. That’s why we don’t see Aaron Wan-Bissaka playing under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
“He’s not seen as capable enough to set up the game and get the ball into the final third. You can’t sit here anymore and say, ‘Defending is his priority, defending is his first job’.
“But the balance between being a good defender and a good striker is imperative. You can’t be 70-80% attacking and only 10-20% defending when you’re a full-back. What Trent has at the moment is is an imbalance in his game.
“You can have a brilliant attacking part of his game like he did, and a less capable defensive part, but he has to be the one that gets you through moments in games and you have to be able to handle things.
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“I think Trent needs to work on his defense. I said a few years ago that there was a lack of seriousness in his defense and that there was a lack of vigilance. At some point in his career, this will hold him back.
“If Liverpool aren’t in as good a run as they’ve been for four or five years – they are right now – or if they’re playing for a less superior team in possession like England, then there will be a greater expectation that he will be in a defensive position for most of the game.That’s what we’re seeing right now.
“It’s causing him pain and he’s only young. But it’s an important moment in his career where it’s not the time to meet him, it’s not the time to give up on him.
“Now is the time to get right behind him because he is one of the most exceptional talents you will ever see as a full-back on the ball.
“During my Premier League career at United, I played 400 games and had 35 assists. He had 44 assists in his last four seasons at the age of 23. It’s absolutely ridiculous. What we have here is one of the great talents this country has produced in this position.
“But, I think there is an example in his own team where the balance is good in Andrew Robertson.
“He goes forward, gets a lot of assists, a lot of passes in his forwards and a lot of good play in midfield, but he’s also competitive and he’s good on that side in terms of defence.
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