Trent Alexander-Arnold struggled in the first half of Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat to Arsenal (Reuters)
Gary Neville believes Trent Alexander-Arnold should have been substituted at half time in Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat to Arsenal, even if he wasn’t injured.
Gabriel Martinelli gave Arsenal a flying start with a goal after 58 seconds before Darwin Nunez equalised for Liverpool. However, Mikel Arteta’s side led by the break as Bukayo Saka struck just before half time.
Liverpool equalised once again through Roberto Firmino but Saka converted a late penalty following Thiago’s foul on Gabriel Jesus to secure three points for Arsenal.
Alexander-Arnold’s defending came under fire once again for Arsenal’s first two goals, while he was replaced by Joe Gomez at half time due to an injury.
But Neville believes Alexander-Arnold should have been taken off, even if he was fit to carry on, and questioned Jurgen Klopp’s decision to bring off Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota in the second half.
‘Even the substitutions were a little bit strange,’ Neville said on Sky Sports’ The Gary Neville Podcast.
‘Salah coming off, obviously I think Trent had to come off at half time even if he wasn’t injured.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was forced off against Arsenal due to an injury (Getty)
‘But Salah coming off then Jota coming off, and they ended up needing a goal with Harvey Elliott left wing and Jordan Henderson right wing, it just felt a little bit strange.
‘Look, they have got enough credit in the bank this Liverpool team and this Liverpool manager. And this Liverpool manager has done the best job of any manager in the last six, seven years, with what he has had to work with in terms of budget compared to the rest.
‘So, they have enough credit in the bank for us not to go wild on them and say: ‘This is the end of Liverpool’. That’s not the case here, but there are concerns and worrying signs that things are nowhere near.
‘Actually it’s not the performance or the result at times, it’s the actual energy and the appetite in the games that they have had over the last few years in terms of trying to defend and press.
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‘I’ve not looked at every single statistic in the running stats and Jurgen Klopp may have and his sports science coaches might have statistics to say they are running and sprinting as much as they used to, but to the eye, it looks nothing like it used to in terms of how they’re hunting and moving together as a unit, all squeezing across to one side, all squeezing up to a space.
‘They look two or three yards off, and two or three yards in football is everything. If you’re a yard off a world-class player it’s too much.
‘Liverpool being two yards off where they were just feels very stark to the eye when you’re watching it in the second half because they didn’t come out in the second half. I know they got back into the game, which is a strange thing to say, but Arsenal were by far the better team in that game in the second half and deserved to win in the end.’
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‘The substitutions were a little bit strange.’