Gary Neville has dug into Trent Alexander-Arnold 's recent struggles for Liverpool and emerged with a four-point plan that could send him on the plane to Qatar.
Renowned for his outstanding attacking ability but criticised for his defensive deficiencies, the 23-year-old right-back is enduring the most difficult period of his short yet spectacular senior career. With his chances of playing for England at the World Cup this winter only dwindling, none other than a Manchester United legend is here to save his season.
Neville, who's regarded as one of the greatest right-backs in English football history, says that Alexander-Arnold must concentrate on improving four specific defensive traits between now and November, when Gareth Southgate will select his 26-man squad.
Firstly, while looking back at a number of the Liverpool academy graduate's lapses on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, Neville insisted that Alexander-Arnold needs to work on his one-versus-one defending. In his analysis, the United icon harkened back to his days as a youngster, admitting: "I know I was a very poor full-back at 20.
"I'd been a centre-back, I couldn't defend one-vs-one, I didn't know how to hold my position on that side, I didn't know my distances, I certainly didn't know where my body shape should be and I had to learn all those things over a two or three-year period."
Next, the "unbelievably special" talent was simply told to sprint back every time the Reds are being counter attacked, noting how he often "ambles" back towards his own goal when the opposition are breaking. Once he's in his position, Alexander-Arnold then needs to adjust his body shape and get "crouched" - and he's even got an animal to take inspiration from.
"I used to work with a movement coach," Neville explained. "He used to say it was 'like a Tiger ready to pounce'." Finally, it's to be more aware of the danger around him, as the former Old Trafford stalwart suggested that Alexander-Arnold doesn't turn his head enough to scan for opponents and can be caught ball-watching.
Despite his criticism, Neville reckons that both Liverpool and England have someone on the level of Brazilian great Cafu on their hands, much thanks to his incredible attacking output for Jurgen Klopp 's side. "The hardest parts of the game, he's doing. No full-back that I've ever seen in this country can do what he can do," the player-turned-pundit declared.
"So, if he can just work on those four basic things, we won't just have one of the best attacking right-backs we've ever produced, we'll have probably the best right back the world has ever produced. Because this is a Cafu. This is that level of full-back. This is something unbelievably special.
"And this is an important juncture in his career, where you say right, what does he do? Does he think 'I don't have to do that', 'I don't want to do that'? I would urge him just to work for two months, three months, four months. There might be a negative in him not going to the World Cup.
"But that might be the biggest positive in his career if he has five to six weeks here just literally being coached and working on these things. He's someone I think is absolutely unbelievable."
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Neville then dove deep into the numbers, hammering home how Alexander-Arnold should now be using his experience after more than a quarter of a century of appearances for his beloved Liverpool. "If we look at Trent's statistics in the last four seasons, since 2018, it is absolutely obscene," he affirmed.
"To put it into perspective I played 400 games in the Premier League and had 35 assists. He's got 44 in the last four seasons at the age of 23. It is absolutely ridiculous, I cannot believe those numbers.
"So what we've got here is one of the great talents that his country has produced in his position. Trent isn't a young player any more. He's young in his age, but he's actually got 250 matches for Liverpool and England. That's a mountain of games to have."
With a defining two months ahead of him as far as his England chances go, Neville's astute analysis has shown Alexander-Arnold exactly how he can up his game. And amid a torrid time at Anfield, one of the Reds' own can weather the storm.
