Arne Slot has claimed Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has made a step up in his defending.
The England right-back has long split opinion due to his elite attacking qualities, but frail defensive performances.
Only over the recent international break, the 26-year-old was ripped into by Roy Keane for his part in the Three Lions’ 1-0 defeat to Greece.
Days later, Alexander-Arnold scooped the man-of-the-match award for his starring role in the 3-1 win over Finland in Helsinki.
Slot said: “Why he played so well [at left back]? I can’t tell you as I did not see the game, I only saw the free kick. But similar to what I just said about Conor, good players will always find a way into the team and will always find a way to play well, especially if they have good team-mates and play in a good team, which is what Trent.
“The national team of England has a lot of good players and Trent is one of them and If you play the likes of Finland and Greece, with all due respect, then these quality players will play well. Although they did lose to Greece.
“But if Trent plays against Finland, with the team-mates he has, then you can play him in any position and he will play a good game.
“He’s been very good for us until now. He was and is very important for us in our attacking part of the game and I also liked the way he has defended till now in the games he played for us. So I think he made a step up in that perspective.
“But like with all the others, there is room for improvement, that is clear. But he has done well for us this season and for the national team too because if I am correct, in the four times he played, he was three times man of the match. So that is quite a good score, so let’s hope he will now be man of of the match for us too.”
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