Lineker Slams Tuchel’s ‘Odd’ Public Criticism of Alexander-Arnold
Gary Lineker has publicly criticised former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, labelling his past comments about England and Real Madrid star Trent Alexander-Arnold as “distinctly odd and unusual.” Lineker, a prominent figure in English football punditry, believes Tuchel’s approach to critiquing players, particularly in a public forum, is counterproductive and a misstep.
Tuchel, during his tenure in management, has been known for his candid and often blunt assessments of players. Back in May of last year, he specifically addressed Alexander-Arnold’s defensive capabilities. At the time, Tuchel stressed that unless the then-Liverpool defender significantly improved his defensive game at right-back, his chances of featuring in his preferred starting eleven would be limited.
“I can see that sometimes he relies heavily on his offensive contributions, and gives not so much emphasis on the defensive discipline and effort,” Tuchel stated ahead of Liverpool’s final match of that season. He further elaborated on the high stakes of tournament football, warning that “the one defensive error, the one moment where you are not 100 per cent awake, can be decisive, can be the moment where you pack your suitcases and go home.”
However, with England’s 2026 World Cup campaign on the horizon, Lineker has voiced his strong disagreement with Tuchel’s public feedback methods. Speaking on his popular podcast, ‘The Rest is Football’, Lineker questioned Tuchel’s rationale behind such public pronouncements.
“I don’t see why Tuchel would have said that. It’s a very bizarre statement for a manager to make,” Lineker remarked. He admitted to having similar thoughts about Alexander-Arnold’s game at the time but emphasised that a manager’s role is to address these issues privately. “He’s the guy in charge so it doesn’t particularly bode well for Trent.”
Lineker defended Alexander-Arnold’s exceptional attacking prowess, stating, “He’s saying he’s not as strong defensively as he is attacking. Oh really? Who would have thought that? The reason for that is he’s one of the best attacking players in world football. I mean I’ve always been very pro-Trent.”
He argued that Alexander-Arnold’s positioning, often pushed further up the pitch or even into midfield, naturally creates situations where defensive duties might be less prominent. “The whole thing about his defensive side, if you play him that far forward and move him into midfield, there are going to be elements when you don’t defend particularly brilliantly.”
Lineker also pointed out the perceived double standard, noting that other right-backs also make defensive errors, yet these are not amplified in the same way. “But other right-backs make mistakes as well and nobody says anything. If a player goes past Trent, it’s ‘oh see, there’s his weakness’. So it became this thing that people looked for, more than probably in reality that was there. No player can do everything brilliantly.”
A Misprofiled Role?
Lineker went on to suggest that Alexander-Arnold may have been misprofiled early in his career, particularly in his role as a traditional full-back for both club and country. He described it as “a bit of a shame” that the player has largely been confined to this position throughout his significant England and Liverpool careers.
The Sin of Public Criticism
The core of Lineker’s criticism, however, lies in Tuchel’s decision to air what should have been private coaching matters in the public domain.
“Also you can’t have your coaches and managers talking negatively about you in public,” Lineker asserted. “That’s wrong, Tuchel shouldn’t have done that. I don’t know what possessed him to do it.”
Lineker stressed the importance of private communication between managers and players. “If you think that, that’s fine and you can have private conversations with the player addressing the issues. But you don’t do that publicly just to justify your own decisions, it’s just wrong.” He speculated that Tuchel might have been attempting to justify his team selection decisions at the time, particularly as Alexander-Arnold was not in the squad when the comments were made.
“But it was distinctly odd, unusual and a mistake. You don’t do that publicly about players.”
Past Grievances and Current Struggles
Lineker also drew a parallel to past criticism, suggesting that Alexander-Arnold had previously been “hung out to dry” by Tuchel’s predecessor, Gareth Southgate. This occurred when Alexander-Arnold was trialled in a midfield role without sufficient preparation or game time.
More recently, Alexander-Arnold’s career has been significantly impacted by injuries, limiting his game time for both Real Madrid and the England national team. This season, he has managed only 446 minutes across 10 appearances, without registering any goals.
Under Tuchel’s management at Chelsea, Alexander-Arnold has made just one appearance, in a friendly against Andorra last summer. Reece James has consistently been favoured by the German manager in the right-back position. Furthermore, other Premier League talents such as Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa and Tottenham’s Djed Spence have also been seen as ahead of Alexander-Arnold in the pecking order for England’s starting eleven, particularly for their opening match against Croatia.
