FORMER LIVERPOOL player John Aldridge has backed Trent-Alexander Arnold in the wake of recent criticism.

The full-back is often perceived by pundits as weak defensively and culpable for the concession of goals, though going forward, he is widely seen as one of the world’s best in his position, regularly appearing high up in the assist charts over the course of recent Premier League seasons.

With Liverpool struggling in ninth position this season, criticism of the 24-year-old has grown more intense.

Manager Jurgen Klopp left him on the bench at the outset of last month’s 1-0 win over Man City, while England manager Gareth Southgate has consistently been reluctant to select the player in his starting XI.

Liverpool ambassador, Aldridge, however, believes the criticism of Alexander-Arnold has been too strong.

“Trent has got his critics and it just dumbfounds me at times,” he said. “He’s the best right-back in the world going forward. But you’ve got to be able to compensate whenever we lose the ball. This year with the new system, we haven’t quite done that. And people are pointing fingers at it. That’s going to affect you. It’s a young lad, everything’s gone [up] since he’s played and all of a sudden, he’s had a dip in form. He’s only human. And people have jumped all over him, especially from the England point of view. The England supporters, when they come to Anfield, boo. What’s that all about? Come on. The lad’s got to live with that.

“He’s only 24. He’s been around the block a few times, but he’ll be all the better for it in my opinion because it’s an experience that he’s never had to go through.”

Aldridge continues: “Don’t forget, there are some very clever managers out there. While he’s going forward all the time, as soon as we lose the ball, and inevitably you’re going to lose the ball when the ball goes into the box, it’s pinged to where he should be. He’s not the world’s greatest Olympic athlete. And teams play on that.

“It’s up to the manager or whatever to find something to rectify it. If he goes out of there, then someone has just got to sit.

“Henderson has been doing it greatly over the years. It’s pretty harsh on the lad and what Gareth Southgate did — I’ve got tremendous respect for Gareth — it couldn’t have come at a worse time for Gareth when he was just struggling with his form.

“I hope he doesn’t go [to the World Cup], he has a break and recuperates. The way the English press have been on top of him as well — some of them, not all of them — he doesn’t deserve that. That’s always been a problem with the English press over the years, hasn’t it? They build you up to jump all over you.

“But it’ll be interesting to see what happens now that [Reece James] is [likely to be] out. I’m sure he’s got to take him. You look at what options they’ve got at right back. They’ve got a couple of good right-backs, haven’t they? [Kieran] Trippier and [Kyle] Walker. But none of them can do what he does.”

Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

Meanwhile, another former Liverpool star, Robbie Fowler, believes the club can improve on recent disappointing results by adding greater depth to their squad.

“First and foremost, I’m a fan, like every player and the manager I’m disappointed when they don’t win games. I am a big believer in terms of the team growing, you do need to bring players in. I think if you’re not bringing players in, you’re not necessarily just standing still but potentially going backwards as well. It’s important for Liverpool or any other team in the Premier League. To grow you want players coming in and people to fight for places.

“It’s notoriously difficult to bring players in in January, I don’t think there have been that many successes. Don’t get me wrong there have been a few, but you ultimately want to have your team built in pre-season and get the team ready. It’s fairly obvious that there is an element of needing someone to come in. One of the things we witnessed last year when Liverpool were fighting on four fronts was the depth in the squad they had. They were brilliant last year, but the squad was bigger. A few players have gone, but you do need a big squad to compete.”

Pictured above are Liverpool FC Legends John Aldridge and Robbie Fowler, who this week visited Belfast and Dublin in celebration of Carlsberg’s 30th year in partnership with the club. Passionate supporters of the Reds since 1992, Carlsberg teamed up with Aldo and Fowler to surprise a group of unsuspecting fans at a Liverpool FC supporters’ five-a-side match. To find out how they got on, follow Carlsberg Ireland on Instagram.