Manuel Akanji fires brutal dig at Trent Alexander-Arnold over Man City comments

Trent Alexander-Arnold has come under fire from Manuel Akanji for remarks he made about Manchester City.

The recent success of Pep Guardiola’s club was discussed by Liverpool star Alexander-Arnold prior to Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Anfield.

The Englishman remarked, “It’s difficult. It’s easiest to say that City and its organisation are up against a system that is designed to win.

“Looking back on this era, although they’ve won more titles than us and have probably been more successful, our trophies will mean more to us and our fanbase because of the situations at both clubs, financially.

“How both clubs have built their teams and the manner in which we’ve done it, probably means more to our fans.”

Since then, Alexander-Arnold’s remarks have prompted responses from people like Kyle Walker and Erling Haaland.

The third player to respond is City defender Akanji. When questioned if it was a means of penetrating their players’ minds, the Swiss replied, “Probably he tried it to [be that way], but it didn’t matter to us.” I doubt it had an impact on us. We ultimately attempted to take the pitch and perform. Really, I was unaffected by it.

“I’m not sure why he said that. Even so, he didn’t play. He didn’t won it, therefore he can’t tell. All I can say is that. He is eligible to speak once more if you win three crowns in a single year, or five, as we did last year.

Speaking about Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool, Akanji said: “It was a different game for us to what we normally have. We normally have more control. We knew how it is to play here … that at some point the crowd is always going to be there and support them … and we stood together and fought until the end.

“We have to take the draw and it’s also good that we showed this side of us. That we can do this as well and not just be the dominant team.”

Due to the tie, Arsenal currently leads Liverpool by goal differential in the Premier League standings, with City trailing them by one point in third.