{"id":544535,"date":"2020-04-06T12:23:56","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T16:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=544535"},"modified":"2020-04-07T08:09:31","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T12:09:31","slug":"trent-alexander-arnold-is-vital-to-liverpools-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/04\/06\/trent-alexander-arnold-is-vital-to-liverpools-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"Trent Alexander-Arnold is Vital to Liverpool&#8217;s Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Do <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/clubs\/liverpool\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Liverpool<\/a> have any weaknesses? If so, what are they? Despite their recent blip in form, it is a frequent thought among Premier League clubs. And during this period of isolation, it would not be far fetched to think that is one of the things being most analysed.<\/p>\n<h2>Trent Alexander-Arnold Vital to Liverpool&#8217;s Attack<\/h2>\n<h3>Providing Creativity<\/h3>\n<p>One area that has been pointed out as a potential weakness is Liverpool&#8217;s lack of midfield creativity. While the likes of Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Naby Keita and James Milner provide a relentless work rate off the ball in pressing opposing teams in a midfield three, they are not known for their ability to consistently contribute in an attacking sense. If anything, Jurgen Klopp&#8217;s midfield has proven to be one-dimensional, and previously unsuccessful attempts to bring in Nabil Fekir and Dani Ceballos suggest that the Liverpool boss would like something different, at least as an option.<\/p>\n<p>Yet evidence suggests that Klopp does not need creativity in his midfield and that is due to the impact of his two full-backs, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson. While the midfield is the focal point to Liverpool&#8217;s intense, pressing game, the role of the two full-backs has been to provide the creative side to their attacking game. It is an uncommon ploy but is also synonymous with the imperative role that full-backs now play in the modern game.<\/p>\n<p>Alexander-Arnold, in particular, is now a vital member of Liverpool&#8217;s attacking game. He has recorded 12 assists in the top flight this season, second only Manchester City&#8217;s Kevin De Bruyne and the joint-most of any defender in the history of the Premier League, drawing level with his tally from last season. He has also chipped in with two goals himself.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"Cg5hSzo5TltQ1Q6WwPEK3Q\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/1195535896\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'Cg5hSzo5TltQ1Q6WwPEK3Q',sig:'ceJcQUkxWnt4TDyOM7F1l-pNj9CvroP3gcQgCW4S8Sk=',w:'594px',h:'408px',items:'1195535896',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>A Huge Influence<\/h3>\n<p>The impressive numbers don&#8217;t end there, either. Trent Alexander-Arnold has created 16 big chances this season &#8211; second only to De Bruyne, once again &#8211; and the most from any defender, by a distance. What&#8217;s more, no player has had more touches of the ball than his 2,983, while he has also played the second most key passes (75) of any Premier League player in 2019\/20. To emphasise his importance, no other Liverpool player has reached 50 in that metric.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In the best team in Europe, the best playmaker is a right-back from West Derby,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/football\/news\/11669\/11942620\/trent-alexander-arnolds-assist-record-for-liverpool-analysed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> Sky Sports&#8217; Jamie Carragher. &#8220;It&#8217;s mad. It&#8217;s strange. I have never seen a full-back have such an influence on a team before.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Sometimes you get carried away talking about a player,&#8221; said Carragher. &#8220;But when you think about the best in that position &#8211; I&#8217;m talking about Cafu and Dani Alves &#8211; they were world-class in that position. He is actually running the game from full-back. What makes him special is that it is like having Kevin De Bruyne at right-back. It&#8217;s like having a midfield player at right-back.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Gary Neville has also been hugely impressed with Alexander-Arnold. &#8220;What staggers me about Liverpool is that he doesn&#8217;t have two big strikers he is going to hit and they are going to get loads of headed goals,&#8221; he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/football\/news\/11669\/11942620\/trent-alexander-arnolds-assist-record-for-liverpool-analysed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told<\/a> Sky Sports. &#8220;He has the likes of Mane, Salah and Wijnaldum in there and they score headers from his crosses, he is that good. His quality is out of this world.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As Neville mentions, the quality that Alexander-Arnold possesses also makes him stand out. For a player still only 21-years-old, the technique he delivers from his crosses on the right-hand side and in his set-pieces is an astonishing part of his game. It is no wonder that he is Liverpool&#8217;s go-to set-piece taker and that no team has scored more headed goals in the Premier League this season than the Reds (15).<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"gW8TigGhSwFGuPV-9CgoUA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/1200569208\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'gW8TigGhSwFGuPV-9CgoUA',sig:'ONelTxoK0Ygrk0Bxc4JmAHBXhacDINsrFqJAg54oMTQ=',w:'594px',h:'414px',items:'1200569208',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Should Trent Alexander-Arnold Change Positions?<\/h3>\n<p>The level of Alexander-Arnold&#8217;s current performances raises the thought of whether Liverpool could get even more out of him. Is a move to midfield on the cards and would he be even more effective from that position? Carragher does not think so.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A lot of people have said that about him moving into midfield but I am not sure he would create more there than what he is creating now,&#8221; he added. &#8220;What you find when you play as a full-back is that you are always the out-ball. The full-back is normally on so you often get that time to get your head up and pick somebody out. I think sometimes in midfield, there is somebody on you all the time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Unless Liverpool get a right full-back who is on the level of him, then you might say that Liverpool maybe do miss somebody with Kevin De Bruyne&#8217;s passing ability in midfield and you might think about it. But what he is doing right now, I would not dream of moving him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While the potential for Trent Alexander-Arnold to be even more deadly than he is now is huge, the underlying point is that what Liverpool are currently doing works. This side already has a Champions League title under its belt and is on the verge of winning their first league title for 30 years.<\/p>\n<p>What is even more undisputed, however, is Alexander-Arnold&#8217;s impact on this Liverpool team. As well as being an impressive defender, he is now an outstanding attacking full-back that is proving to be more effective than some of Europe&#8217;s finest creative players. And there is a sense that he is only going to get better.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"ARZ0vfu3QZx8WkoxsC3pKA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/1208441491\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'ARZ0vfu3QZx8WkoxsC3pKA',sig:'D1UC9-aycou8b4BeVCI7Wk8grw-pp9asa4YBmOJ29l0=',w:'594px',h:'395px',items:'1208441491',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Liverpool have been an unstoppable force this season but it is arguably Trent Alexander-Arnold who is having the most influence on their success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1417,"featured_media":544537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2,16],"tags":[4063,126,95,40,1328],"class_list":["post-544535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-premier-league","category-featured","category-liverpool","tag-2019-20-premier-league","tag-jurgen-klopp","tag-liverpool","tag-premier-league","tag-trent-alexander-arnold"],"modified_by":"Nat Goodlad, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1417"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}