Alexander-Arnold has struggled to replicate his form from past seasons in Liverpool colours in the current campaign, which has also seen him lose his place in the England national team.

 

The right-back had a tough outing away at Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night as his defensive error resulted in Liverpool conceding a goal, while Los Blancos winger Vinicius Junior was repeatedly exploiting the space behind him in a game that ended 3-1 in favour of the hosts.

 

 

Liverpool legend Lawrenson is of the view that Alexander-Arnold has always been defensively suspect as he is more proficient in the attacking and creative side of the game, rather than being known for his defensive qualities.

 

However, the absence of top defenders in Van Dijk and Gomez in the Reds backline has resulted in the 22-year-old being shakier and is thus the biggest reason for his struggles in the current campaign in Lawrenson’s view.

 

 

Asked what he thinks is the reason behind Alexander-Arnold’s dip in form, Lawrenson told Off The Ball: “I do not think anything has particularly happened to him in the way that he goes forward as we saw with his cross for [Diogo] Jota in the Arsenal game.

 

“I think defensively he has always been a little bit suspect.

 

 

“He is one of those who, obviously because he is really, really quick, he gambles with the fact that he can get back if he makes a mistake because of his pace.

 

“But I would say the biggest thing would be of course without a Gomez and obviously Van Dijk etc alongside him, he is shaky anyway because the two guys who currently playing at the moment, [Ozan] Kabak and [Nathaniel] Phillips, they are just finding their way through in terms of their own form.

 

“And obviously playing at that level and every mistake he has made at the moment has basically cost Liverpool a goal.

 

“Now what do you do, do you take him out, give him a bit of a rest or do you leave him in.

 

“I mean it is a dilemma obviously [Jurgen] Klopp is going to have to deal with.”

 

Liverpool will return to Premier League action at the weekend as they are set to host Aston Villa and it remains to be seen whether Klopp will make any adjustments to Alexander-Arnold’s right-back role.