Trent Alexander-Arnold mocked again by his lack of defensive skills, but Real Madrid doesn't have second thoughts

Trent Alexander-Arnold has once again been under fire for his performance at Liverpool. Despite that the team got a 2-0 win against Manchester City last Sunday and took a huge leap forward for the Premier League title, Alexander-Arnold was criticised by his inability to stop Jérémy Doku. Stats by Sofascore show that Alexander-Arnold only won two out of the 13 duels, and was dribbled 12 times, more than any other player this season in a Premier League match. He also lost the ball 17 times and only averaged 71% of pass accuracy.

In front of him, Doku broke the opposite season record: he completed most dribbles than any other player this season: 15. In the second half of the game, with Manchester City dominating possession at the Etihad and Doku easily surpassing Alexander-Arnold, only a lack of accuracy prevented Manchester City of turning the match upside down. If that had happened, Trent Alexander-Arnold would have received most of the blame.

This isn't the first time that the quality of the 26 year-old has been put into question, with headlines as harsh as "They're talking about him going to Real Madrid, but the way he's defending he's going to Tranmere Rovers (a third division club)".

Indeed, Trent Alexander-Arnold ends contract this year, and despite him not wanting to leave in the winter (which is otherwise logical, as Liverpool is good positioned to win Premier League and Champions this year), Real Madrid is "100% sure" that the English player, Liverpool-native, will sign for Real Madrid for four seasons in the summer. That's according to sources by Cadena Ser: the club considers the deal done, and proof of that is that Liverpool is already giving minutes to 21-year-old Conor Bradley in the same position.