Liverpool, Sep 24 : Trent Alexander-Arnold, one of the best passers of the ball, has often been criticised for his defensive acumen. Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has come to his defence claiming he has been a good defender all his life.

'We are talking here about a player that won the Champions League and won the league title and he mentioned himself, Trent, that winning the league is about defending, so it's clear to me then that he has been a good defender all his life. But because he is so, so special with the ball, the main emphasis goes to him doing special things with the ball,' said Slot in the press conference on Tuesday.

After suffering an embarrassing 0-1 loss against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, the Merseyside club roared back into form with a 3-1 away win against AC Milan and a 3-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.

The defending Carabao Cup winners will begin their trophy defence against West Ham in the third round of the tournament on Thursday.

'It's very important because it's the next one, the next game we play and that's always the most important one. And I know the history of this club, I know what happened last year and I know how special winning a cup can be. We are far away from that because it's only the first game and a lot have to be played, and we have a difficult tie against West Ham. Fortunately at home. It's a game to look forward to and an important one, as always the next game is,' said Slot.

'It's always nice to win something and I know the history of the club, they won it a lot of times, recently last season in a very special way with so many youngsters on the pitch in the final. If you won it last season, we are aware of the fact we won it last season and we are the holders of that trophy so we have to protect that, is that the right word to use? Maybe not perfect. But we're going to give everything to win it again, let's put it that way,' he added.

/IANS