‘He Wants To Perform In The Best Way Possible’: Virgil Van Dijk Backs Trent Alexander-Arnold After Frail Defensive Showing Against Man United – News18

Last Updated:January 06, 2025, 23:04 IST

The sub-par showing from the 26-year-old comes during a time of reports linking the Englishman to a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid. And some pundits believe that the transfer talks could have weighed heavily on the mind of the full-back.

Liverpool skipper Virgil Van Dijk jumped to the defence of his teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was criticised for his defensive showing against arch-rivals Manchester United, in the 2-2 draw between the sides at Anfield on Sunday.

United, who are struggling at the bottom half of the table picked up a point on the road against the table-toppers as Ruben Amorim’s men exploited Alexander-Arnold’s defensive frailties in the stalemate.

The sub-par showing from the 26-year-old comes during a time of reports linking the Englishman to a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid. And some pundits believe that the transfer talks could have weighed heavily on the mind of the full-back.

United legend Roy Keane did not hold back in his analysis of the Englishman’s performance against the Red Devils as he stated, “There’s talk about him going to Real Madrid — the way he’s defending he’s going to Tranmere Rovers after this. He’s got to do better.”

“We talk about how brilliant Trent is going forward, but Trent’s defending today. My goodness, it’s like schoolboy stuff,” Keane added.

Another ex-United player, Gary Neville opined that links to a club the size of Real Madrid proved detrimental to his showing on the day as it distracted the 26-year-old form his duties at hand.

“The supposed bid from Real Madrid is bad timing for him,” Neville said.

“I think that will have unnerved him. Real Madrid are such a powerful club,” he added.

“There are three reasons for that performance — he has played like this before, he just had a bad game, or his mind was affected by all the talk,” the former United full-back continued.

“I thought his passing and forward play was the worst I’ve seen,” Neville stated.

However, Van Dijk voiced that his teammate was professional enough to deal with the pressure and talk surrounding his future at the Liverpudlian club.

“I am fine with it. Trent has his own people around him, his family and we are there as well,” Van Dijk said.

“He wants to perform in the best way possible like we all do. That is the main focus,” the Liverpool captain added.

“In my opinion, maybe ask him, that is the distraction… the game,” the Dutchman concluded.

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