Gary Neville vindicated as Arne Slot must solve his Liverpool point

Arsenal's 1-0 triumph over Crystal Palace has only served to underscore Gary Neville's recent critique of Liverpool's full-backs, as Arne Slot's team lost even more pace in the Premier League title chase.

Slot has been grappling with issues in the full-back position this season, with both Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez struggling to find their footing since transferring to Anfield. Despite Kerkez netting a goal in the Reds' 3-2 loss to Brentford at the weekend, he was unable to spark a turnaround in Liverpool's winless streak in the top tier.

Neville, never one to shy away from sharing his views on the Reds - as evidenced in a recent episode of the Stick To Football podcast - even if it occasionally leaves him looking a bit sheepish.

The ex-England star believes that Arsenal's full-back options currently outshine those of Liverpool, with Conor Bradley and Andy Robertson also having a tough time this season.

Neville said: "When I was watching Arsenal vs Atletico, I was watching [Myles] Lewis-Skelly.

"Obviously, Jurrien Timber played, you've got Ben White and [Riccardo] Calafiori.

"I thought all Arsenal's full-backs are better than Liverpool's, all four of them - that's a big problem for Liverpool.

"Timber is the best full-back in the league at the moment.

"I think Timber is almost, in my mind, I would class as being... do you know the guy that plays for Real Madrid? [Dani] Carvajal. For me, he's the best.

"And I think Timber's the nearest to him at the moment, I see, in terms of being able to do that bit and do that bit, do the forward bit well enough, but definitely cuts everything off down his side."

Liverpool lost its first-choice right-back during the summer, as Trent Alexander-Arnold forced through a move to Real Madrid.

There's also been a change at left-back, with Andy Robertson losing his place to Kerkez.

Arsenal's victory over Palace extends the London club's advantage over Liverpool to seven points, with the loss to Keith Andrews' side marking four successive defeats for the Reds.

Dango Ouattara, Kevin Schade, and Igor Thiago found the net for the home team, while Kerkez and Mohamed Salah were among the scorers for Liverpool.

Story Saved

You can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.