The Liverpool right back has been getting a barrage of criticism for his poor performance against Manchester United, and Johnson doesn’t really get the level of stick.
“He was poor defensively but without being rude, it's not the first time we've seen it. He's done it many times before and bounced back from it. He still brings an awful lot to the game,” the former Liverpool right back believes while offering an explanation as to why the England international faced an almost toxic atmosphere from some of the Anfield faithful on Sunday.
“I guess there’s some frustration with the fact that he wasn't playing well and the fact that they (the supporters, ed.) kind of know he's very close to going to Madrid. So, they probably see him as being a little bit disloyal. Not that he is, because let's face it, he hasn't got a contract and he needs to play football somewhere. It was obviously a huge game and with him not playing well, the fans never live well with that. But to be yelling at him from the start is absolute madness,” states Johnson, who turned out 200 times for Liverpool during a six-year stretch.
At the time he too found himself linked with both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, and dismisses the thought of it affecting him negatively as has been suggested with Alexander-Arnold.
“It was the other way around; I think it helped. If you know a giant is watching you and trying to sign you it means you're doing something right. It gave me more confidence. There's a lot of speculation in football before anything actually happens, so when my team were talking to those clubs, I was like, “don't tell me the chit-chat. Tell me when I have to make a decision. Otherwise, I don't need to know.
"Obviously, other players like to know every detail and want to be involved. I'm not saying Trent Alexander-Arnold is like that, but some people do like to know it all and then sometimes maybe you're thinking too much.”
Criticism could make decision easy
Apparently, Trent Alexander-Arnold now has an offer on the table from Liverpool, with whom he’s actually won possible trophy since coming through the youth ranks. Could that actually speak against him signing a new contract?
“It’s a really tough one. All his family live in Liverpool. But look, he's won everything. He's been great. He should not have been put in this position in the first place. No one at Liverpool can complain if he leaves because they should have re-signed him last year. And obviously, I don't think how the fans behaved towards him at the weekend helps him stay. And the criticism he gets in the UK doesn't help him stay either. Everyone wants him to stay, but then everyone's doing the opposite. And if you're getting abused in a home game, after winning everything, and then Real Madrid are saying, “we'll come and play for us”, that's going to be hard to turn down.”
Alexander-Arnold obviously has personal ambitions, as he revealed back in October. In an interview with Sky Sports, he made no secret of the fact that a Ballon d’Or is perhaps higher on the list of things he’d like to achieve than another Champions League trophy with Liverpool. A statement which rubbed a few Reds supporters up the wrong way and Glen Johnson believes it borders on madness to say something like that.
“Listen, you have to believe you can win things, but everyone's going for it at the big clubs. Forget about upsetting the Liverpool camp, it’s a silly thing to say because the chances of it to actually happen are very, very small.”
Should this season turn out to be last for Alexander-Arnold at Anfield, Johnson, who was capped 54 times for England, believes Liverpool have his replacement ready.
“I think Conor Bradley would be perfect. Whenever he’s come in, he’s looked better anyway. To be honest, I think Trent only played in some of the games because of his reputation. There’ve been moments where Conor Bradley has been Man of the Match but because Trent is Trent, obviously he gets the shirt, when he’s fit. But if neither of those players had had a name, you’d have picked Conor Bradley. I think they need to find someone that can back up Conor Bradley, if Trent goes.”
- Glen Johnson was talking to Tribalfootball on behalf of BetVictor