Trent Alexander-Arnold has hailed Darwin Nunez's start to life at Liverpool as "outstanding" despite the Uruguayan's unpredictable form in front of goal.
Nunez enjoyed another action-packed night at Anfield on Friday as Liverpool defeated Leicester City 2-1 in their final game of 2022. Despite the victory, Jurgen Klopp's side struggled for large parts of the evening and were vastly underwhelming, however, the 23-year-old forward continued to be the livewire of the Reds' attack as looked to add to his tally of nine strikes since his £64m summer switch from Benfica.
In the end, it was a couple of freakish own goals from the Foxes' Wout Faes that handed Klopp's side victory, with the first coming after midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had given Leicester a shock lead inside five minutes with a composed finish in front of the Kop.
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However after Faes sliced Alexander-Arnold's low-driven cross past a helpless Danny Ward on 38 minutes. Seven minutes later, Nunez was credited for his role in the Belgian's second mishap of the evening as he latched onto Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's defence-splitting pass before delicately dinking the ball over the on-rushing Ward and onto the post. It was there where the Faes failed to successfully clear his line and instead diverted the ball into the back of his goal once again.
Speaking of the performance of the Reds' No.27, Alexander-Arnold said: “I think I speak on behalf of all the lads: he’s been, I think, outstanding since he came in.
“People will judge him on his goals and that’s part of being a striker, that’s part of life. But I think he can keep walking off the pitch with his head held high because he is getting in positions that are really, really hurting the opposition.
“He’s such a threat, he’s getting in behind, he’s holding the ball up, he’s flicking balls on, he’s doing everything that the manager has asked of him. His pressing, his attitude, his desire, you can’t question any of it."
Much like the 3-1 Boxing Day victory over Aston Villa, Nunez found himself unable to add to his collection of strikes for the Reds this season despite getting himself into a number of good opportunities. In addition to crashing the post late in the first half, there was a poorly skied effort at the Kop End after the interval.
But Alexander-Arnold believes it is only a matter of time before the former Benfica man begins to thrive in front of goal and instead opts to take positives at how quickly Nunez appears to have settled into Liverpool's way of playing.
“You’ll get people who will say he’s missed a few chances and he's missed one-on-ones and maybe he should have tucked the second goal away, but he’s getting himself in those positions and when the goals do come I’m sure they will come like London buses!" added the defender.
"We’re just waiting for that but he’s a fantastic lad and he’s an outstanding player as well.”
Prior to the World Cup break, the Liverpool forward enjoyed a prosperous return in front of goal as he notched seven goals in seven starts, dating back to the Reds' first equaliser during the 3-2 at Arsenal on October 9. But since then, injuries to both Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz have seen Nunez deployed on the left-hand side of Liverpool's attack, with his unmistakable athleticism identified as a hugely resourceful tool for Liverpool to utilise during the aforementioned pair's absence.
Since returning from an underwhelming campaign with Uruguay in the Middle East, Nunez has conjured up an xG score of 2.2 in his three Liverpool outings. The highest of that collective score came during Monday's victory in the Midlands.
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