On Monday night, Elland Road become the latest arena to be reminded of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s undeniable talent.
Eight days after his rallying second half display against Premier League leaders Arsenal, the 24-year-old followed up his inspired showing with his finest performance of what has been a tumultuous personal campaign on Merseyside.
While there were ample complaints about the legality of Alexander-Arnold’s initial involvement in the Reds’ opening goal as the ball appeared to strike the right-back's arm, there were no objections to the defender’s ensuing 55 minutes at Elland Road as he aided Liverpool to a stunning 6-1 victory over Leeds United.
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Identical to events at Anfield on Easter Sunday, Jurgen Klopp chose to utilise Alexander-Arnold's mastery in an inverted wing-back role. In doing so, the Liverpool manager watched on as the West Derby star turned on the style and put in a rampant display against Javi Gracia’s side.
That Alexander-Arnold was the man to breach the Whites’ defence and claim an assist for the opener before applying the gloss on an emphatic away-day victory as he lofted the ball into the path of Darwin Nunez felt somewhat fitting given both player and team look reinvigorated following this latest tactical masterstroke.
Helped by the selflessness of both Jordan Henderson and Ibrahima Konate who covered the right-hand flank in Alexander-Arnold’s frequent defensive absence at Elland Road, the England international looks set to enjoy a prosperous end to the 2022-23 campaign in his reinvented quarter-back role.
The Reds’ No.66 was exceptional both in and out of possession and carried the mantle as Liverpool’s creativity nucleus; boasting the most completed passes and touches in midfield, as well as claiming assists for both Diogo Jota and Nunez at either end of a rampant display.
In truth, Klopp’s latest tactical roll of the dice couldn’t come at a more suitable time for those on Merseyside, with Liverpool’s recruitment staff drawing up plans for a midfield facelift during the summer months after deciding to end, for the time being anyway, their pursuit of long-time target Jude Bellingham.
Situated alongside Fabinho in a midfield pivot, Alexander-Arnold could prove to be Liverpool’s secret weapon in the years ahead as the Reds boss is tasked with building a second, great Liverpool dynasty.
With eight games of a troubled Premier League campaign remaining, Klopp is now handed the rarity of being able to devise such tactical tweaks without lasting repercussions between now and when Liverpool’s disastrous league campaign is brought to an end at Southampton’s St Mary’s stadium on May 28.
After an eight-day span at the beginning of April saw the Reds take just two points from games against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, Klopp conceded Liverpool’s chances of returning to Europe’s premier competition next season remain slim to none.
It means following a five-year period in which Liverpool have been unable to ring vast changes in the final weeks of the season due to their prolonged pursuits for both domestic and European titles, Klopp has now been handed such a luxury with the club's Premier League campaign finishing off with home fixtures against Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Brentford and Aston Villa.
Such games are ones in which the Reds are expected to dominate possession, meaning the German will be able critically to evaluate Alexander-Arnold’s midfield credentials over the next six weeks ahead of a summer of sweeping changes on Merseyside.
Totteham’s trip to Anfield at the end of April - which could yet prove to be crucial in the hunt for European football, should results somehow go Liverpool’s way - is the anomaly of the remaining five on home soil but will still provide the Reds boss with the opportunity to assess the practicality of a 3-2-2-3 formation ahead of next season.
Meanwhile, Liverpool's remaining Premier League road trips see them visit relegation-threatened trio West Ham United, Leicester City and Southampton. That will also prove to be a priceless run of fixtures for Alexander-Arnold, especially considering his side's catastrophic form away from Anfield this term.
In fact Liverpool had failed to score away from home against a side in the Premier League's bottom half prior to Monday night's thrashing, with Klopp's men firing blanks against Everton, Bournemouth, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace.
And so while the next eight games could prove to be meaningless in the short term, they could be an invaluable first step in Jurgen Klopp's Anfield rebuild.
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