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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Freddie Keighley

Ashley Cole advises Trent Alexander-Arnold on where he can improve his game

Former Arsenal and Chelsea star Ashley Cole has sent words of wisdom to struggling Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The Reds were beaten 3-1 by Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night, with Alexander-Arnold at fault for Los Blancos' second goal.

The 22-year-old was flummoxed by Vinicius Junior's movement throughout the first leg of the quarter-final tie, while his performance will have further hindered his hopes of making the England squad for this summer's Euros.

Cole - who is widely regarded as one of the Three Lions' finest ever full-backs - believes Alexander-Arnold must improve his starting position to better cope with his opponent's movement.

Alexander-Arnold struggled against Brazilian wingers Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo (pictured) (Getty Images)

"The area he can improve would be his feet patterns - movements which allows him to turn and match his opponents run or dribble," wrote the 40-year-old on his Twitter account.

"If you can’t move them quick enough, it doesn’t matter how fast you are - you will get beat. Foot patterns will get you in defensive positions to turn quick."

Cole explained how his compatriot can improve his defending (SkySports)

Should Alexander-Arnold be named in the England squad for the Euros? Have your say in the comments.

Cole was responding to a CBS Sports video in which Alex Scott and Jamie Carragher demonstrated Alexander-Arnold's defensive shortcomings.

The latter issued a damning verdict on the Liverpool star for being caught flat-footed, saying: "He doesn’t have that intensity in his legs and the focus to defend.

"This guy is not going to go past me. It’s like he feels like defending is not his job. [That he] should be on the ball."

Carragher added: "I can understand when people say he's out of position because he's going forward. But when you're there that's got nothing to do with 'I'm an attacking full-back, I don't have to do this'.

"He's not out of position, he's in position - now he's got to defend, and he's got to make it difficult against top wingers at this level."

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