Could Trent Alexander-Arnold End up Playing in Midfield for Liverpool?

 Trent Alexander-Arnold says he is happy to play wherever his managers tell him to play. Photograph: TF-Images/Getty Images
Trent Alexander-Arnold says he is happy to play wherever his managers tell him to play. Photograph: TF-Images/Getty Images
TT
20

Could Trent Alexander-Arnold End up Playing in Midfield for Liverpool?

 Trent Alexander-Arnold says he is happy to play wherever his managers tell him to play. Photograph: TF-Images/Getty Images
Trent Alexander-Arnold says he is happy to play wherever his managers tell him to play. Photograph: TF-Images/Getty Images

In 2015 the Monaco manager, Leonardo Jardim, decided to relocate his right-back to central midfield. Fabinho performed so well in his new role that less than two years later, with Monaco on course for the French title and the semi‑finals of the Champions League, Jardim trumpeted him as the best midfielder in the world. But Brazil’s manager, Tite, continued to think of Fabinho primarily as a full-back – an inferior one to Dani Alves – leading Jardim to declare: “I will never put a player of his level at right-back.”

Since joining Liverpool Fabinho has confirmed that he is indeed a superb midfielder. And it is interesting to refer to his case when considering the future of his clubmate Trent Alexander-Arnold, another right-back whose qualities suggest he could thrive midfield.

While with England this week Alexander-Arnold was asked what he thought about Jamie Carragher’s recent suggestion that he could end up playing as Liverpool’s answer to Kevin De Bruyne. “That’s his point of view and maybe one day it will happen: who knows?” he replied. “But for the time being, the manager has obviously decided that I am a right-back and that is where I will play. I just want to play football. If the manager decides that he wants to use me as a midfielder, a centre-back or striker, that is where I’ll play.”

A sensible reply. He also mentioned that the player on whom he modelled himself as a youth was Steven Gerrard, who was occasionally deployed on the right before making the middle his stage.

“Everything about his game I really admired,” Alexander-Arnold said. “I always studied him and wanted to be like him.”

There is little doubt that Alexander-Arnold could revel in midfield. It is likely he could cope with the extra physical demands – he has no shortage of dynamism and only one defender (Patrick Van Aanholt) and four midfielders (Wilfred Ndidi, Oriel Romeu, Declan Rice and João Moutinho) have won more tackles than him in the Premier League this season. He would have to hone his positional play but that is also true in his current role and there is no reason to think either development is beyond him. The main benefit he would bring to Liverpool’s midfield is more creativity, not in place of Fabinho – who is already Liverpool’s most inventive midfielder as well as their most important defensively – but alongside the Brazilian, with Alexander-Arnold serving as a De Bruyne while Fabinho would remain more comparable to Fernandinho.

Alexander-Arnold, after all, has a range of passing off either foot that would enable him to prise open defences from all angles if given freedom to probe from the middle. And he has the intelligence and precision to see and take the most rewarding opportunities, along with a wit that burns brightest in the heat of the action, producing firecracker moments like his nifty corner kick and cross against Barcelona in last season’s Champions League semi-final or his transformation of the corner flag into a prop for a nutmeg on Ben Chilwell last Saturday. The more a player with his technique, vision and ingenuity is involved in the play, the better.

But that is where the case for a move becomes less clear. How much more involved in the play would Alexander-Arnold be in Liverpool’s midfield? As things stand, Liverpool set up in a way that harnesses the 21-year-old’s most dangerous weapon – his sumptuous crossing – as much as possible (“Crossing is probably my best asset going forward,” he said on Wednesday). Klopp’s system gives his full-backs as much time and space as possible when they attack.

Compare Alexander-Arnold’s route to goal to that of Leicester’s Ricardo Pereira. The Portuguese has completed more dribbles than any other defender in the league this season, whereas Alexander‑Arnold does not even feature in the top 10. That is because Opta defines a dribble as a run during which a player beats at least one opponent while retaining possession of the ball. Alexander-Arnold runs into attacking positions at least as often as Pereira (delivering over 30 crosses more than the Leicester player so far this season) but seldom has to beat an opponent to get there because Liverpool work gaps for him so well.

There would, then, be a cost as well as a benefit to shifting Alexander-Arnold from right-back to midfield. His passing would enhance Liverpool in the middle, assuming, probably safely, that he would show the requisite dynamism and savviness to go with it. But who would then play at right-back? None of the current options would offset his loss from that position. So while Fabinho and Alexander-Arnold looks to be an appealing combination in Liverpool’s midfield, the club are not yet ready for that evolution. They first need to find another right-back of Alexander-Arnold’s level.

The Guardian Sport



African players in Europe: Salah Drives Liverpool Closer to Title

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah (R) scored his Premier League-leading 25th goal of the season in the win over Manchester City - AFP
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah (R) scored his Premier League-leading 25th goal of the season in the win over Manchester City - AFP
TT
20

African players in Europe: Salah Drives Liverpool Closer to Title

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah (R) scored his Premier League-leading 25th goal of the season in the win over Manchester City - AFP
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah (R) scored his Premier League-leading 25th goal of the season in the win over Manchester City - AFP

Egypt star Mohamed Salah scored one goal and created the other as Liverpool beat Manchester City 2-0 at the weekend, a win that pushed the Reds ever closer to the Premier League title.

Salah has scored 30 goals in all competitions this season, including nine in his last eight matches for leaders Liverpool.

Here, AFP Sport highlights African headline-makers in the top European leagues:

MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool)

He was the catalyst of a victory that moved the table toppers a giant step closer to the title. Salah netted with a deflected strike from a clever corner routine in the 14th minute. The 32-year-old then showed his strength and desire by getting past City defender Josko Gvardiol before whipping over a cross that Dominik Szoboszlai converted.

BETO (Everton)

The Guinea-Bissau striker reached 10 goals in all competitions this term after scoring in a 2-2 draw with Manchester United. Beto struck for the fifth time in his last five appearances, firing past United goalkeeper Andre Onana in the 19th minute to put Everton ahead. Mali international Abdoulaye Doucoure was the other Everton scorer.

YOANE WISSA, BRYAN MBEUMO (Brentford)

Democratic Republic of Congo forward Wissa put the Bees on course for a 4-0 win at lowly Leicester, while Cameroon forward Mbeumo also scored. Wissa bagged the 17th-minute opener with a close-range finish before Mbeumo scored 10 minutes later with a fine finish. Mbeumo has 15 goals in all competitions this season, and Wissa 13.

ITALY - ADEMOLA LOOKMAN (ATALANTA)

The Nigerian international took his season's Serie A goals tally to 12 after a brace in the 5-0 demolition of Empoli, which kept his third-placed side within three points of leaders Inter Milan. Lookman scored two classy goals, but the forward seemed unconvinced about suggestions his spat with coach Gian Piero Gasperini was over. Gasperini angered Lookman after Tuesday's Champions League elimination by Club Brugge, calling his star attacker the worst penalty taker he had ever seen. Asked by Sky Sport if the row was behind him, Lookman shrugged his shoulders and said "finished?", fuelling rumours of a mid-year exit.

GERMANY - SERHOU GUIRASSY (Borussia Dortmund)

Sizzling Guirassy scored four goals as Borussia demolished Union Berlin 6-0 to keep their slim Bundesliga top-four hopes alive. The Guinea international put Dortmund two goals ahead before half-time through a header. His other three goals -- a left-foot rocket, a tap-in and another header -- came in nine second-half minutes.

AMINE ADLI (Bayer Leverkusen)

Making his first start since fracturing his leg in October, Adli scored and laid on an assist as Leverkusen won 2-0 at Holstein Kiel to keep in touch with leaders Bayern Munich. The Moroccan latched on to an inch-perfect pass and chipped the ball into the net just before half-time.

FRANCE - ACHRAF HAKIMI (Paris Saint-Germain)

The Morocco star, runner-up for the 2024 African footballer of the year prize, is having a tremendous season for PSG and scored twice in the Ligue 1 leaders' 3-2 win at Lyon. It is just the second time he has scored twice in one game for PSG since joining the club from Inter Milan in 2021.

MESCHACK ELIA (Nantes)

The DR Congo winger came off the bench to score a late goal which clinched a precious 3-1 win for struggling Nantes over Lens. It was a first goal for the former TP Mazembe player since joining Nantes from Swiss side Young Boys on loan this month.