Gary Lineker has backed remarks from Jamie Redknapp that Liverpool miss Trent Alexander-Arnold, and thinks Mohamed Salah in particular is feeling the absence of the former right-back. Alexander-Arnold joined Real Madrid at the beginning of the summer window after opting against signing a new contract at Anfield.
Alexander-Arnold was poised to depart Liverpool as a free agent, but terms were struck with Real Madrid for the defender to move before his contract expired in order to feature in the FIFA Club World Cup. That banked the Reds £10million and they subsequently moved to bring in Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen while right-back Conor Bradley remains at Anfield. Saturday witnessed Liverpool suffer a 2-1 loss against Chelsea in the Premier League, marking their third straight defeat in all competitions.
And Lineker believes Alexander-Arnold is being sorely missed. “In terms of creativity, as much as anything else, I think they’re really missing Trent,” he said. “Before that, sometimes Trent would go forward and they would, perhaps, get exposed defensively.
“But what he gives you going the other way, it’s impossible to replace. There is not another player I can think of in world football who plays that position [right-back] in the way that he plays it offensively.
“I also think that Mo [Salah] is missing him, that connection that they had. Yes, sometimes they would get exposed in behind, but they would have someone try and cover that position – last season it was mostly [Dominik] Szoboszlai, previous to that would be Jordan Henderson.
“You’ve got to say it was worth his weight in gold going forward, and I always used to say, ‘Stop worrying about him [Alexander-Arnold] making the odd tiny mistake defensively, because what he gives you the other way is incredible.”
Lineker’s observations mirror those expressed by Redknapp during the weekend, with the former Liverpool captain also of the belief that his former club are struggling at right-back.
Redknapp outlined how Alexander-Arnold’s exit has sparked ‘difficulties’ for manager Arne Slot this campaign. “They’ve got problems at full-back. They’re missing Trent [Alexander-Arnold],” Redknapp told Sky Sports on Saturday.
“They haven’t played the same right-back since the Burnley game. [Conor] Bradley had a tough 45 minutes. [Milos] Kerkez hasn’t quite adapted either – the pressure of playing for Bournemouth isn’t the same.
“They have problems all over the pitch, but especially at full-back with [Andy] Robertson’s injury at the end. This international break could be a good chance to reset.”