Trent Alexander-Arnold's greater positional flexibility made him a more effective defender against Leeds United on Monday. Photo: Naomi Baker/Getty Images
Is he a right back? Is he a midfielder? Jurgen Klopp's solution to get the best out of Trent Alexander-Arnold is to encourage him to be everything, everywhere and at the same time.
After the furor over Jude Bellingham's aborted pursuit, Alexander-Arnold 2.0 suggests Liverpool could have a 'midfielder' who, after all, idolized and modeled Steven Gerrard's game.
Depending on the level of patience, Alexander-Arnold must move from right-back to reinforcement and dictate play from the center or a timely, innovative response from a coach who ran out of opportunities during a challenging season.
This is true. is a fair guess. Liverpool's recent hard loss to Manchester City was a watershed moment — the moment when Klopp realized he needed to get creative with a key player and his team structure.
On a humiliating day at the Etihad, Alexander-Arnold owned the ball only 48 times and practically did not hit the attacking zones. He made four successful recoveries, three of which were in or near his penalty area.
There was a significant improvement and change in his next match against Arsenal, with Alexander-Arnold taking 76 touches and becoming more prominent in the second match. half of a 2-2 draw, but it was in the match against Leeds United that his performance improved radically.
Alexander-Arnold scored 153 touches at Elland Road — the most he has ever had in a Premier League game — and it was crucial to making Liverpool more like to Liverpool.
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A touchcard that once suggested he was at his best more of a right wingback than a fullback showed him drifting inside to receive the ball like a «fullback».
Alexander -Role Reversal Arnold
Klopp has never renounced his footballing influences, crediting former Mainz boss Wolfgang Frank and Italian maestro Arrigo Sacchi for laying the foundations for his famous «gegenpressing».
He certainly acknowledges that when John Stones successfully played a similar «hybrid» role in a Manchester City shirt, he noticed when he considered Alexander and Arnold's experiment.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta used Oleksandr Zinchenko. exactly the same, so there is nothing new in Alexander-Arnold's positioning. Where he differs from the Stones and Zinchenko is that although they combine defense, midfield and attack with clever short passes, Alexander-Arnold is more lethal, as his two assists last Monday demonstrated.
Klopp also pointed out that strengthening the midfield so that Fabinho isn't a one-man shield had an equal, if not more, impact on tactical rethinking. Alexander-Arnold's movements in the last two matches have made Liverpool less vulnerable to counterattacks. He made 11 tackles at Leeds, four of them in the opponent's half. It is important to note that when Alexander-Arnold was not in his usual full-back position, Ibrahima Konate played a key role covering Liverpool's right flank.
Changing the role increases the effectiveness of his protection.
This adjustment reflects what many have argued during Liverpool's difficult campaign: Alexander-Arnold's world-class technical and athletic ability is more like an attacking midfielder than a defender.
Questions about Alexander-Arnold's defensive instincts aren't new, though they've come up more frequently before this season when he's been with the national team. For his club, the vulnerabilities became more visible when Liverpool's middle three changed with the departure of Georginio Wijnaldum. The back four had to endure more pressure as the defensive-minded midfielder was removed from the center three.
Throughout last season, Liverpool played a risky game in which Alisson Becker stopped shots in one-on-one situations, even in games where his team won easily. Liverpool were so good at creating and scoring that chances missed were generally downplayed. This season, rivals have found a way to maximize their chances in tandem with Liverpool's waning strength with and without the ball.
In the past, James Milner or Jordan Henderson were good at playing false full-backs whenever Alexander-Arnold rushed forward (Wijnaldum covered Andy Robertson just as effectively). Liverpool's right flank has been under frequent attack this season and the midfielders' ability to cover or assist as needed has proven to be insufficient. Witness City's fourth goal earlier this month, when the right-back took over all the flak, but there was no return from right-half Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
» /> «Liverpool have gone from the midfield solidity they enjoyed when Georginio Wijnaldum was in the team. Photo: REUTERS/Phil Noble. The last seven years.
«Why would you play in midfield with the best right-back in the world?” he asked after Gareth Southgate's experiment for England.
Of course, Klopp could counter that Alexander-Arnold is still playing at right-back, and the last two games are not the first time he has been given a license to move around. The sample size is too small for definitive conclusions, especially considering how poorly Leeds played on Monday. In the future, adjustments will be made both in-game and between games. If Thiago Alcantara comes out, for example, Alexander-Arnold may have less need or inclination to take up space as a sixth playmaker or seek Alisson's goal kicks in the center rather than out the flank.
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But certainly the last two performances give a glimpse of how Klopp will use Alexander-Arnold to provide a new option. He knows midfielder behavior is familiar territory for a Liverpool player, given that at 17 he was considered a versatile midfielder in the Gerrard fashion. The last two performances point to a sensible and exciting compromise.
Those who still yearn for Bellingham will lament Klopp's inability to buy a midfielder who can do it all.
Those who remember the famous Moneyball scene in which Brad Pitt (as Billy Beane) explains the virtues of finding three profitable players who can do the job of one extremely expensive player will see Alexander-Arnold as a key an element of a restructured Liverpool team should be rivals again.
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