Trent Alexander-Arnold’s new role in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side is working wonders - and it has once again highlighted his on-the-ball ability.
Fans and pundits alike have noted that the 24-year-old’s main strength throughout his career has been with the ball at his feet - but have been quick to highlight his defensive frailties.
The England star impressed in Liverpool's 6-1 win at Leeds on Monday night - and his new role may well be inspired by one of Klopp’s biggest rivals in recent years, Pep Guardiola. Alexander-Arnold is still playing as a right-back, but he has been allowed more freedom to play in a more central role higher up the pitch in possession.
This can be seen at Manchester City with both John Stones and Joao Cancelo playing in a more advanced role while still making good on their defensive commitments. To most though, they have said “for years” this is a role suited to Alexander-Arnold. Here, Mirror Football takes a look at what his critics have said regarding his best position...
Steven Gerrard (2015)
The midfield chatter has not only started as a professional. Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard wrote in his 2015 autobiography about his fellow scouser’s midfield ability - and did not mention him as right-back at all.
“Trent is another Scouser and apparently, just as I tried to be John Barnes and Steve McMahon, he grew up pretending to be me while playing in the Merseyside parks.
“He can play as a number 6, a holding midfielder, but he’s versatile and I’ve seen him fill various positions.”
Jamie Carragher (2020)
Carragher’s chatter about Alexander-Arnold playing in the midfield stretches back to 2020 - and has not always been as keen on the idea. Speaking on Monday Night Football, he said: “A lot of people have said that, about him going into the midfield.
"But I am not sure he would create more in midfield than what he creates now. I do not think there is any question about moving him out of position.
“The thing you find when you play as a full back is you always get that little bit of time to get your head up and that’s what is right with him. As a full back he just has that extra time to see a pass.”
Gary Neville (2020)
In the same discussion though, Gary Neville highlighted other players who have made the same transition.
“Phillip Lahm is a player who successfully transitioned from full-back to central midfield, and played there adequately under Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich.
“Trent Alexander-Arnold is absolutely exceptional. I said a couple of months ago that I watched him defending, and I thought he needed to get more serious about his defending. Because I do think he’ll cost his team in certain games.
“But it’s unfair to suggest that because his overall performance levels are high. So young, so mature and Liverpool have got a really, really special talent.
Roy Keane (2022)
Roy Keane is infamously critical, but he has sung the player's praises massively in the past. Speaking to Sky Sports in January 2022 he praised his creativity, mentioning that the role of a full-back has changed in recent years.
“Absolutely brilliant. What a player. Fantastic. The stats are absolutely brilliant, brilliant player, local lad bet he can’t believe his luck. [The] chances he creates, the assists - unbelievable.
"[He] looks like a good athlete, a decent lad, a brilliant player and we all get excited about attacking players but to get excited about a full-back it’s how the game’s changed over the last few years. The full-backs are so important.
“The assists and positions he gets himself in, he’s brave, got a lot of courage - what a brilliant player.”
Paul Merson (2022)
While Carragher compared Alexander-Arnold to Gerrard, Paul Merson had another England midfielder on his mind after watching a “mind-blowing” performance in 2022.
"People say, ‘he can’t defend’. Why do you have to defend when you go forward like he does?
"To put up the figures and the assists that he gets is just mind-blowing, absolutely mind-blowing.
"Some of the balls that he plays, the weight of pass - everything he picks out he composes himself, never panics. That ball was David Beckham.
"If you’d have just had a look at his feet there and nothing else, you’d of thought it was David Beckham.”
Rio Ferdinand (2022)
In light of Klopp's tactical tweaks over the years, Rio Ferdinand, speaking in March 2022, noted a tactical “tweak” to bring the defender more central.
“There has been a tweak to the positions and he is playing a lot more inside, and he’s playing a lot higher. He’s inside the pitch, and he is in Kevin De Bruyne territory in a false 10 or an eight position.
“I don’t know who’s told him, or if Klopp has told him tactically to play more inside. Pep Guardiola does it with Cancelo at Manchester City, and he’s doing it [at Liverpool].”
Jamie Carragher (2023)
Carragher has recently criticised Trent’s defensive rigidity, providing a new theory on the defender's abilities.
“We all know his defending isn’t good enough. I don’t think it will ever be good enough. We’re talking about a player who’s played 260 games. It’s not going to massively improve… They’ve got to go and buy a right-back.”
However, Carragher was quick to praise his recent performances just a month later.
“It was almost like a Steven Gerrard performance, where he was everywhere and there was a lot of running involved. Watching him in midfield getting more involved. Running the game. I think it is almost perfect for him.
“We are talking a lot about John Stones doing this brilliantly for Manchester City, and Trent’s a better passer of the ball than Stones. Stones is great, and has great composure on the ball but in terms of defence splitting passes? No. That is what Trent has got. There is only Kevin De Bruyne in the Premier League who is better than him (at creating chances).
“His numbers have always been high in terms of creativity. I was critical about Trent about a month ago about Liverpool conceding a goal against Real Madrid. It is difficult because when you look at him, he is that special of a talent. You want to see that more, and less of the defending. I made the point that if Liverpool don’t get back to being a top team where they dominate, he is going to get asked more questions defensively.”
Gary Lineker (2023)
Alexander-Arnold's performance on Monday night saw Gary Lineker take to Twitter, telling Klopp to “play to [his] strengths.
“Said it for years: I’d love to see Trent play in midfield regularly. It is the position he grew up playing;. Play to your strengths.”
And what has Klopp had to say?
Speaking after the Arsenal game this month, Klopp asserted that it was not the first time Trent had played in that role for him.
“We did that before, but it was not that obvious. But we did that before, we put Trent inside.
“Today, in buildup Trent played more inside, double six, that’s how it is. You need to get used to it, obviously. I would say it’s a big step to do it in a game against Arsenal.
“It opened up different opportunities for us, if you watch it back after we learned to use it. I thought he did well. It was not the first time, but not for a while, that’s why I’m fine with how he executed it.”
