Andy Robertson had a particularly difficult first-half showing against Bukayo Saka during Liverpool’s league clash with Arsenal, as was evidenced by Alan Shearer’s half-time punditry.
The Scotland international was at fault for the Gunners’ opening goal within the first 10 minutes of action at the Emirates Stadium.
A sensational long-range ball found the England star with acres of space on the right flank, which was gratefully capitalised on.
Alan Shearer unimpressed with Andy Robertson v Arsenal
Alan Shearer mirrored the critique of Robertson offered on X (formerly Twitter) by James Benge during the half-time break.
The 54-year-old noted that Saka appeared to have his defensive opponent (on a reported £160,000-a-week, according to Capology) ‘on toast’ judging by their opening contest.
“He’s given Andy Robertson a horrible time. Every time he’s got the ball, you can just hear the excitement, you can feel his confidence and belief that he knows he’s got,” the former Newcastle star spoke on Optus Sport.
Did Andy Robertson really struggle against Saka?
Perhaps the biggest indication that Robertson struggled to deliver on this occasion at the Emirates Stadium was Arne Slot’s decision to hook the Scot at the 63rd-minute mark.
The Dutch head coach showed a similar level of decisiveness in the Reds’ season opener against Ipswich Town with Jarell Quansah then taking the fall.
The stats would indicate that the former Hull City left-back didn’t have a diabolical showing in North London, though it’s hardly a performance to shout about.
Sofascore handed the footballer a 6.4/10 rating after winning 3/6 duels (air and ground) contested, completing 73% of his passes (16/22) and losing possession nine times.
Not quite the hard-battling outing you’d expect from Liverpool’s 2017 summer signing in a game of serious significance to both outfits, you’d have to say!
