Trent Alexander Arnold is one of the best right-backs in the world. Correction – he is one of the best players in the world.
The 24-year-old Englishman primarily plays as a modern attacking right-back for Liverpool and has won everything at the club level already.
The Champions League in 2018-2019 was quickly followed by UEFA Supercup in the 2019-2020 season. He also won the FIFA Club World Cup in 2020 before helping the Reds then take the Premier League crown in the same campaign by beating Manchester City.
Jurgen Klopp led him and the rest of the team to a trio of titles in 2022 – the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup and most recently, the Community Shield.
Trent made his debut for Liverpool in 2016 after being signed as a midfielder by the club’s academy in 2004. He was then transformed into a right-back by Klopp to a devastating effect.
Known for his set-piece prowess and pinpoint accurate deliveries in the box, the Merseyside lad has amassed 244 appearances for the club, scoring 15 goals and notching a mind-boggling 61 assists in the process, 45 of them being in English football’s top tier.
For a defender, the numbers are unreal. As a comparison, Leighton Baines, an Everton legend, holds the record for most assists in the league by a defender at 53 in 420 appearances.
Trent’s productivity at the top end of the pitch is one of the reasons why he is a shoo-in starter for both Liverpool and England. Until the last few months.
He is often criticised for his defensive frailties as his main job is to prevent the goals from going in. And a significant drop in form combined with small injuries since the last weeks of the 2021-2022 season hasn’t helped his cause at all.
Lapses in concentration on the pitch, poor man-marking and unable to cope with big, physical strikers (remember Mitrovic’s goal) majorly contributed to his downfall and might also cost him his spot in Gareth Southgate’s final World Cup squad.
Fans have been relentlessly burying him over his performances and popular video streamer IShowSpeed also took an opportunity to land a blow to his ever-falling stocks.
The YouTube star convinced Trent to be a part of his live broadcast and the pair played a game of Fall Guys.
Speed lost in one of the matches and was seen celebrating the loss by shouting “he defended?” – an apparent reference to the recent criticism of Trent’s defensive capabilities.
They were engaged in a conversation for a while with Speed putting on his usual hyperactive antics for show.
He even wanted to teach the defender with “moves” and tackling, very enthusiastically we would say.
The cherry-on-the-cake moment was when Speed started to sing a song of admiration for Trent but immediately switched to yelling “defend, defend, defend” repeatedly after just a few verses.
The hilarious actions prompted the Liverpudlian to leave the stream and Speed’s fans are having a ball over it.
Liverpool returns to the Premier League to face Tottenham Hotspur this weekend in London and Trent is expected to feature in the match.
He would be hoping for a revival in his fortunes to shut down some of his critics and lock his ticket to Qatar for England.
