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After the recent 2-0 victory over Fulham at Anfield, Gary Lineker took to Twitter to laud Trent Alexander-Arnold for his exquisite passing range, stating that it was ‘something to behold’. In light of that, we’ve taken a look at how the 20-year-old’s skill can be utilised to full effect.
Escaping the press
With Jurgen Klopp at the helm, ‘gegenpressing’ has become a key feature of the Reds’ play, where they suffocate opponents and force them into losing the ball or making a mistake. Few teams set up to give them a taste of their own medicine in fear of being caught out by the pace of Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah, but the top teams will inevitably look to play them at their own game.
Most notably, in European fixtures, teams such as Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund will play high intensity football in order to win the ball back quickly, whereas Manchester City would most likely adopt this tactic domestically.
In Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson and Alisson Becker, not to mention the man in question, Liverpool have some of the best passers from the back in the Premier League, if not Europe. However, none can ping a ball with vicious incisiveness such as Alexander-Arnold.
The England international cuts across the ball with such technique that it can meet its target at the other end of the pitch without even leaving the grass at times (see his pass to Roberto Firmino against Swansea at Anfield last season).
Offering a different dimension
When teams hunt in packs and send two or three men after a player in red, it should be Klopp’s go to tactic to expose their high line with a quick switch of play from right back over to the left wing.
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They haven’t struggled too much this season, but when they have, Liverpool have been caught out by deploying a soft midfield containing too many pragmatic runners with little creativity, such as against Napoli and Red Star Belgrade.
Perhaps, if the German boss were to deploy Alexander-Arnold slightly infield, akin to the way in which Pep Guardiola asks his full-backs to play almost as central midfielders at times, the work rate of Gini Wijnaldum and James Milner could cover the 20-year-old should he embark forward and look to cut the opposition open.
