"Lot of teams are playing on that side and taking advantage" - Manchester United legend believes Liverpool's biggest weakness is being exploited this season
Former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam has claimed that Liverpool's biggest weakness Trent Alexander-Arnold is being exploited by opposition teams this season.
The Reds suffered yet another defeat this weekend as they were beaten 1-0 by newly-promoted Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday.
Jurgen Klopp's side came into the match on the back of consecutive 1-0 wins against Manchester City and West Ham United. But former Liverpool striker Taiwo Awoniyi's strike was enough to provide yet another blow to the Merseysiders.
Despite the fact Trent Alexander-Arnold did not start the game, Jaap Stam has insisted that the right-back is the biggest weakness in the Liverpool side.
The former Netherlands international believes Jurgen Klopp's side are struggling for confidence. He told MatchDayExtra on Premier League Productions, as quoted by HITC Sport:
“What’s wrong? I think they are still a very good side and they have very good players. The only thing that’s lacking is confidence.
Trent Alexander-Arnold doesn't play like a regular right back 👀 https://t.co/ppvuKK3NkN
“But you expect them, after the Manchester City game, a good result, where they didn’t play well, you think the next game you get something out of it.
“Playing Forest, on a very bad run, they need to win, so they are going to give you a hard time."
Stam has claimed that opposition teams are consistently looking to exploit the Reds' weaknesses such as Alexander-Arnold. He added:
"But the confidence you are getting from the Man City game, you might expect them to get more about from this game.
“Maybe oppositions are looking at them a lot more, in terms of ‘where are their weaknesses?'
"You see a lot, when Alexander-Arnold plays, a lot of teams are playing on that side and taking advantage and creating opportunities, so they need to get things right to start competing for the Champions League spots.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold has to pick up his game as he is vital in Klopp's system at Liverpool
Trent Alexander-Arnold is known for his creative instincts rather than his defensive skills. However, he has been quite dismal defensively this campaign and has been subject to criticism from fans and the media.
Former coaches Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello have named three Liverpool players in their dream World Cup XIs. Both agreed on selecting Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk in their teams, while Sacchi also backed Ibrahima Konate in his defence. #lfc [gazetta dello sport]
In fact, he has not had much joy going forward either this season as he is yet to find his first assist of the season even though he has three goals to his name.