Trent Alexander Arnold

[Posh Red]

Oh, I agree with all of that. Merely pointing out that it's not nearly as bad as people make it out. He's been a key part of Liverpool teams with extraordinary defences, while carrying not insignificant defensive duties himself. So he's obviously not a true liability most of the time

Seems to me that he was always at his best when he had a midfielder that took care of all of his defensive responsibilities for him, namely Henderson.

 

[Utterly De Ligt'd]

I agree with you but I think Spain is arguably not on par with the Premier League in terms of the level and intensity. He will struggle still because he’s a poor defender but he’ll probably get away with it more in that sense.

Is that why Spanish teams routinely dominate and outclass English teams in Europe? People think the gulf between the top couple teams and the rest of Spain means the whole country is crap, no, it just means those teams make more money and can invest more, but your average midtable Spanish team is talented and technically sound, and they seem to have no trouble taking out top English teams in Europe.

 

[Rossa]

Even in his best times, his defending isn't great - and definitely not top level/elite. He's been slightly more switched on this year, as Slot seems to require more focus and control from his players, but he's not great 1v1 and positionally he's below par. He's obviously not every week as bad as he was on Sunday, but he hasn't magically become a good defender, his strengths lie elsewhere. And putting it down to only "he can't be arsed" has strong vibes of Eden "I could be Ballon d'Or if I wanted" Hazard. He just doesn't have the basics of a strong defender, whichever way you look at it.

If you attack him, he has some obvious flaws. Firstly, he is quite slow on the first 10 yards, so if you are quick, you can easily get away from him. Secondly, he is neither very strong, so if you have great physicality, you can basically outpace or outmuscle him on the ball or to the ball. Thirdly, his positional sense for a defender is atrocious. He's been saved by Konate's pace in the past, but against United, Konate didn't look like his normal self, and Dalot is very fast, so we capitalised on it. Other teams will target him now!

 

[RG77]

Seems to me that he was always at his best when he had a midfielder that took care of all of his defensive responsibilities for him, namely Henderson.

Poor Fede.

 

[caid]

I dont really care if liverpool extend his contract. Whereas i really, really want Salah and Van Dijk to go away. Much younger player, much more time left in the game but he's just not on their level. Bit of a flat track bully where he's good if he doesn't need to defend but will be a liability in a competitive game.

 

[giorno]

Seems to me that he was always at his best when he had a midfielder that took care of all of his defensive responsibilities for him, namely Henderson.

Even that being the case, that still means he wasn't this huge liability, yeah?

 

[Berbaclass]

Is that why Spanish teams routinely dominate and outclass English teams in Europe? People think the gulf between the top couple teams and the rest of Spain means the whole country is crap, no, it just means those teams make more money and can invest more, but your average midtable Spanish team is talented and technically sound, and they seem to have no trouble taking out top English teams in Europe.

The Premier League as a whole is far stronger than La Liga. Sure, the top 6-8 La Liga teams (at best) are competitive, but beyond that, the Premier League’s depth is pretty much unrivalled.

When you mention Spanish teams dominating or being relatively successful in Europe, it’s the same handful of clubs doing so—Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico, Sevilla and occasionally Bilbao/Sociedad/Celta level sides. These are established teams with resources, not a reflection of the league as a whole. In the Premier League, you see teams like West Ham winning the Europa Conference League or clubs like Leicester City making waves in Europe. The competitiveness and quality run deeper.

Your argument about superior technical ability also doesn’t seem relevant. Do you genuinely believe the bottom 10 La Liga teams can attract or afford players of the same caliber as those in the lower half of the Premier League? Not a chance. The financial disparity is massive. Premier League clubs—even mid-to-lower-tier ones—have the spending power to bring in technically gifted players from all over the world. That’s a luxury most La Liga sides don’t have.

Yes, Spanish players might generally have a higher technical ceiling than their English counterparts, but that’s missing the point. The Premier League isn’t reliant solely on English talent. It’s one of the most diverse league in the world, and that global talent pool makes even the lower-tier teams capable of competing at a high level. La Liga sides outside the top 6 simply can’t match that or if they can it’s for a relatively small period.