Trent Alexander-Arnold's assessment of Arsenal's defeat by Aston Villa earlier this month has come back to haunt him in light of Liverpool's title hopes collapsing.
Before the Reds made the short trip to take on local rivals Everton on Wednesday night, the Liverpool right-back discussed the Gunners losing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa on April 14. Alexander-Arnold suggested that Mikel Arteta's side were guilty 'overthinking' during the clash with Unai Emery's men.
Hours before kick-off in that clash at the Emirates, Liverpool had been beaten 1-0 by Crystal Palace at Anfield. The 25-year-old claimed that Arsenal may have been distracted by that clash before their meeting with Villa.
"If those fixtures were reversed and we played second and Arsenal played first maybe it would’ve been a different mentality. It all comes down to mentality," he told Sky Sports . "I think our result played a part in Arsenal’s result. They have potentially got too excited and thought this is our chance, this is what we need to do.
"Maybe they overthought things whereas if us and City both won it made them think, ‘we need to just win’ rather than it being a chance to breakaway from the pack. None of us have been in a three-horse race, so it’s difficult."
Less than a fortnight later, Liverpool's title hopes are in tatters after being beaten 2-0 by their Merseyside rivals. Goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were enough to heap misery on the Reds, who looked way off the pace for the majority of the contest.
Inevitably, Alexander-Arnold's comments on Arsenal have resurfaced, with many fans poking fun at how quickly they have come back to bite him. To add insult to injury, the Reds right-back's dismal defending for Everton's second did not evade the attention of supporters on social media.
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Calvert-Lewin rose highest from a corner to lash an emphatic header beyond Alisson, but Alexander-Arnold hardly put up a fight to prevent the Everton No. 9 from getting on the scoresheet. Fans were unforgiving in their response to his contribution to the goal, with a clip on social media doing the rounds which showed his failure to defend his goal.
One supporter wrote: "Defenders usually enjoy defending. This guy doesn’t seem like he does. Consistently switches off with what looks like no care at all. Doesn’t even pretend to make an effort."
Another sarcastically added: "People should stop crucifying Trent here, maybe he was using his mentality to defend," while one claimed: "It gets worse every time I see it haha."
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