Trent Alexander-Arnold hasn't been at the top of his game for Liverpool this season.The England international has been roundly criticised for a number of his performances since the restart, cutting a shell of the rampaging full-back that thrived throughout the 2019/20 campaign.Alexander-Arnold had played a massive role in Liverpool's first-ever Premier League title win, notching a remarkable 13 assists from right-back.

Alexander-Arnold's struggles

In fact, such was the level of Alexander-Arnold's performances that he earned himself a place in the 2020 FIFA FIFPro World XI, which stands as an incredible achievement for a 22-year-old.

However, it's difficult to imagine the Liverpool academy graduate rubbing shoulders with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo again if his 2021 continues in the manner it's started.

There had appeared to be chinks in Alexander-Arnold's armour defensively as early as the first day of the season, struggling at times during the 4-3 win over Leeds United.

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Poor Premier League performances

But his recent displays have seen the rot spread into every aspect of his game, which was most pointedly demonstrated when he conceded possession 38 times at Southampton.

It was the highest total of any player in a Premier League game up to that point in the season and rubbed salt in the Liverpool wounds of a 1-0 loss at the St. Mary's Stadium.

And now, in Liverpool's latest Premier League defeat, Alexander-Arnold's name has once again been bounded around social media in a critical manner.

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Alexander-Arnold slammed vs Burnley

The 22-year-old was widely criticised for his performance in the 1-0 Burnley loss, which marked Liverpool's first defeat at Anfield in the Premier League for almost four years.

The most worrying statistic of all saw Alexander-Arnold complete just one of the 21 crosses he attempted on Merseyside and not one of them came from open play.

Nevertheless, stats can only ever tell you so much, so check out some of the footage of Alexander-Arnold - who is valued at £99 million - as well as the best reaction on Twitter below:

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Fan's slam Alexander-Arnold

One fan wrote: "Trent Alexander-Arnold has been one of the worst right-backs in the Premier League this season. 

"He's dropping stinkers after stinkers, he had a shocking game against Southampton and he's having absolutely abysmal night against Burnley. No urgency whatsoever."

Another penned: "Trent Alexander-Arnold had 1 successful cross today out of 22. That’s honestly absolutely pathetic."

A third tweeted: "I will never forget when people came on here and said that Trent Alexander Arnold is comparable to David Beckham."

And a fourth wrote: "Trent Alexander-Arnold is just a fancy version of Tony Hibbert, except he’s not as good."

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It really is sad to see Alexander-Arnold playing like this.

Where now for TAA?

While 'football Twitter' can so often border on reactionary hyperbole, you'd be hard-pressed to argue that Alexander-Arnold hasn't been declining because the evidence is nothing short of damning.

However, we've got to take a step back here and remember that we're talking about a player with just three full seasons under their belt in the first-team.

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Yes, it often feels as though Alexander-Arnold is something of a veteran in this Liverpool side, but it's to be expected that a player of his age and experience will have dips and lulls in form.

That being said, in the harsh world of the Premier League, you can only afford to wade through those troughs for so long because the title is beginning to slip from Liverpool's grasp.