Gary Neville quipped that Trent Alexander-Arnold should show his aggressive side more often after the Liverpool right-back lost his cool following a first-half clash with Granit Xhaka on Sunday.
With Arsenal 2-0 up and cruising at Anfield, the Liverpool star was involved in an altercation with Xhaka, who was late in challenging Alexander-Arnold for the ball on the far touchline towards the end of the first-half. That led to Alexander-Arnold squaring up Xhaka before pushing him in the back; an act that saw both men booked by referee Paul Tierney.
And Neville, who was on commentary duty for Sky Sports, questioned Xhaka's role in the flare-up before taking a swipe at Alexander-Arnold.
Reacting to the incident on commentary, Neville says of Xhaka's decision to engage in the row with Alexander-Arnold: "Why would he? He cannot get involved, he cannot get involved. He’s been so good for Arsenal this season, that’s exactly what Liverpool would want.
Neville's co-commentator Jamie Carragher also chimed in, adding: "I mean what is he thinking though, Xhaka? Two nil up away at Anfield, throws his arm or something into Trent. Just ridiculous. Trent reacts and then the crowd gets up, the ball’s already gone. It’s two nil, moments before half-time."
Alexander-Arnold was visibly fired up after the incident and was aggressive in the closing stages of the half which led to Neville adding: "He’s got to be careful, Trent Alexander-Arnold, because he is fired up. To be fair though, it’s the most aggressive I’ve seen him in five years. Maybe he should get kicked a little bit more."
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Intriguingly, Mohamed Salah scored just seconds after the incident to nudge Liverpool back into a match that had passed them by.
An improvised finish from Gabriel Martinelli had given the Gunners an early lead before the Brazilian turned provider to tee up Gabriel Jesus, who doubled the lead in the 28th minute.
Tempers flared, though, at the end of the first-half following Salah's goal as the two sides headed in at the break with Liverpool full-back Andy Robertson claiming he had been elbowed in the throat by linesman Constantine Hatzidakis following the half-time whistle.
Arsenal headed into the match with a five point lead over Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League and could open up an eight point advantage over the reigning champions if they can see out the second-half of Sunday's feisty clash.
