Topic: Trent Alexander-Arnold

[tornado]

Please give Trippier an extended audition

[Peabee]

Robbed. Own goal given.  Another assist though. 

The PL site only has him on 2 assists. Seems they don’t count assists for own goals.

[Doc Red]

Please give Trippier an extended audition

Think he needs more time to show his immense qualities.
You don't play Atletico if you're not amongst the absolute best in your position.
Trent needs to be introduced at spaced intervals. Far too young to start every game for England.
His ceiling is clearly as the starting RB of Liverpool.

[Morgana]

The PL site only has him on 2 assists. Seems they don’t count assists for own goals.

This is outrageous. Shouldn't the club appeal this? Unbelievable that he gets no credit at all for what was clearly his goal. (If it were Harry Kane, no way they'd take that goal off him). To not get the assist credit is outrageous.

[Welshred]

There's far more important things to label outrageous than a footballer not being given an 'assist' for a goal

[Morgana]

There's far more important things to label outrageous than a footballer not being given an 'assist' for a goal

To give him nothing at all is .... slightly bothersome. 

[Welshred]

It isn't really important, I doubt he's arsed either way.

[rebel23]

How did Trent get on for England? I didn't watch the game..

[newterp]

How did Trent get on for England? I didn't watch the game..

I thought he didn’t track back a few times. Was fine overall.

[rocco]

I thought he didn’t track back a few times.

Good lad , saving his Energy

[thaddeus]

I thought he didn’t track back a few times. Was fine overall.

In the first half he was overly defensive in my opinion.

It seemed at half-time he was told to play higher and stay higher.  The second Kosovan goal and a few other occasions Hendo was sitting in a right back and not because "Shit - Everyone has got caught upfield so I'd better cover".  It seemed like a deliberate ploy and almost resulted in Trent scoring but his left-foot spanker was straight at the 'keeper.

I thought in general Trent looked nervous and played within himself.  It reminded me of when Gerrard tried to be the holding midfielder to accommodate Lampard.

Hopefully the Tripper can reclaim the right back spot and Trent can concentrate and bossing it for us.

[markmywords]

Gianluca Vialli once suggested the right back is usually the worst player on any team: any better going forward and he’d be a winger, any better defensively and he’d be a centre back.
Jamie Carragher has a similar theory. “No-one grows up wanting to be a full back,” he said a few years ago, a statement that was only around 50 percent a dig at Gary Neville.
Jose Mourinho once explained why he loved Paulo Ferreira, his right back with both Porto and Chelsea. “He’s a player who will never be man of the match, but will always score seven out of 10,” Mourinho explained. That’s the right back, Mr Seven out of 10 — surely the least glamorous position in the side.
The right back doesn’t even have the exotic feel of the left back, who tends to be a more creative player forced into defence at some point in his development because of a shortage of left-footers . You associate a left back with constant overlapping runs and devilish crosses, whereas the right back is steadier, more consistent. Under-rated. An unsung hero.
Things have changed slightly, of course, and the evolution of the full back from steady defender to a flying attacking weapon has been well-documented over the past decade or so. But full backs tend to be judged in three simple ways. (a) How well do they keep their position and get the better of opposition wingers. (b) How effectively do they offer a crossing option on the overlap? (c) How do they cope with the physical demands of those two duties, charging up and down the pitch constantly?
The full back has generally avoided being assessed in terms of possession play and creativity. Every other position has developed in that respect. From sweeper-keepers to false 9s, everyone else has become a possession-focused improvement on their former selves. But when was the last time you heard a full back praised primarily because they had good vision, were comfortable on the ball, and could pick out a great pass? For Dani Alves, those compliments followed after mention of his stamina. For Philipp Lahm, as soon as his possession play became truly appreciated, he was often deployed in midfield. Besides, neither were ever their side’s most creative outlet — both played alongside midfields surrounded by elegant playmakers.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, however, feels different to anything that has come before him. This Liverpool side doesn’t have a playmaker; indeed, they improved significantly after the departure of Philippe Coutinho, and Jurgen Klopp didn’t want him back. Fabinho is a steady holding player, decent enough in possession but no Andrea Pirlo. Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner are predominantly workers, and Naby Keita hasn’t quite settled. Adam Lallana and Xherdan Shaqiri aren’t regulars, while Roberto Firmino is increasingly a true nine rather than a false nine. Liverpool’s chief creator is their right back. And it’s difficult to think of another top-level club side — certainly in the modern era — who can say that.
Alexander-Arnold’s assist tally from last season shows that: 12. Three times as many as any Liverpool midfielder, twice as many as Firmino, 50 percent more than Mohamed Salah — and, OK, only one more than Andy Robertson on the opposite flank. Last season, in a 5-0 thrashing of Watford, Liverpool’s full backs got all five assists between them, Alexander-Arnold 3-2 Robertson. But Robertson feels like a typical modern full back in style, simply a very good one — when he goes forward, he’s a crosser. Alexander-Arnold is a genuine creator. He whips in crosses, of course, but he also plays lofted through-balls, fires quick passes into the feet of attackers, switches the play regularly to great effect, and can also cut inside and use his left foot.
With all that in his armoury, then, it was something of a surprise that Arsenal manager Unai Emery decided to leave him unmarked for the trip to Anfield on Saturday, using a diamond midfield. It was a calculated gamble: let Liverpool’s full backs push on, leave two men upfront, and quickly break into the channels. There were moments of promise: Nicolas Pepe caused Virgil van Dijk problems, and wasted the game’s most presentable chance at 0-0.
But Liverpool knew how to play the situation perfectly. From the outset they constantly switched play, repeatedly working Arsenal’s diamond laterally across the pitch. Sometimes these switches came from the midfielders, and Henderson’s dramatic volleyed pass out to Robertson in the ninth minute was so extravagant that it almost felt like Liverpool were making fun of Arsenal’s system.
[https://cdn]
But sometimes it was just the full backs switching play between themselves, like Cafu and Roberto Carlos used to for Brazil.
[https://cdn]
This is Liverpool’s speciality — it was a major feature of their narrow 2-1 loss to Manchester City back in January, a game that essentially cost them the title, but one that Liverpool were hugely unfortunate not to win. Their goal in that game, headed by Firmino, featured three full-back-to-full-back switches of play.
At the weekend, the inevitable happened shortly before half-time — Alexander-Arnold assist, Liverpool goal, headed in by Joel Matip. The only surprise was that it came from a set piece, a right-wing corner, rather than from open play.
[https://cdn]
Arsenal’s system wasn’t at fault for that one. Perhaps it was at fault, though, for Liverpool’s second. When Sadio Mane received the ball on the left, the space afforded to Alexander-Arnold was incredible — Mane couldn’t resist switching play, below.
[https://cdn]
After receiving the ball and dribbling forward, Alexander-Arnold fired it into Firmino’s feet. The Brazilian’s typical deft touch for Salah tempted David Luiz to pull him back — penalty, and 2-0.
[https://cdn]
Alexander-Arnold also played a part in the third goal, also scored by Salah. Receiving the ball in the right-back position under pressure from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, he retreated slightly, but then rather than turning onto his right foot and hammering the ball up the touchline, as you may expect from a right back, he turned inside and played a left-footed pass to Fabinho. In turn, the Brazilian’s ball into Salah set him streaking away.
[https://cdn]
Also of interest was Alexander-Arnold’s positioning when Arsenal were trying to play the ball out from the back. Here, he effectively pushed forward to form a front four with Salah, Firmino and Mane, which left Jordan Henderson some 30 yards behind him, covering the right-back zone. Here, Salah closes down Arsenal’s left-sided centre-back David Luiz, while Alexander-Arnold takes care of left back Monreal.
[https://cdn]
This is partly, of course, because of Arsenal’s narrow diamond — Alexander-Arnold didn’t have a winger to shut down. But it was reminiscent of the way Pep Guardiola used to deploy Dani Alves when Barcelona’s pressing was at its most extreme: as a right-sided forward who retreated into a back four when required, rather than a mere overlapping full back. Alexander-Arnold’s aggressive pressing also forced Dani Ceballos into the most remarkably misplaced pass you’ll witness all season — effectively crossing the ball into his own box for a Mane chance.
[https://cdn]
There were also other variations. Henderson, at his best since being restored to his box-to-box role in spring, sometimes overlaps Alexander-Arnold to allow him inside into the centre.
[https://cdn]
Again, the right back’s ability to use his left foot makes this particularly worthwhile — he had a decent shot with his left foot here, which was blocked, and he also showed this ability on multiple occasions last season.
One such occasion came against Arsenal at the Emirates in a 1-1 draw, for a goal disallowed due to a Mane offside. But which other right back could check inside and float a perfect ball over the opposition defence with his left foot?
[https://cdn]
The flip side, of course, is that Alexander-Arnold is far from perfect defensively. He endured several difficult matches last season — away at Napoli in the Champions League in particular, but also against lowly Premier League sides like Southampton and Cardiff. His positioning was suspect on the opening day of the season against Norwich, and there were moments here when Arsenal failed to take advantage of the space in behind him.
But those weaknesses are inevitable for a 20-year-old who was — as with most full backs — converted to that position from a central midfielder in his late teenage years. There may be occasions when Joe Gomez is more suited to Liverpool’s right-back position for certain matches, but Alexander-Arnold’s contribution to Liverpool’s attacking play shouldn’t be underestimated — this isn’t a mere overlapping right back, but a genuine playmaker.


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a lot of people focus on his defensive short comings, but  I'm not convinced alves of cafu were better going forward than trent is currently

I would put Roberto Carlos ahead of him , but that's the only one I can think of for sure

[Welshred]

Surprised this thread has only just been bumped back up today, I thought there'd be a lot of people on here telling us how selfish Trent is after he went for goal from a tight angle instead of cutting the ball back across the 6 yard box for others to score at around 55 minutes into the game.

[Morgana]

Surprised this thread has only just been bumped back up today, I thought there'd be a lot of people on here telling us how selfish Trent is after he went for goal from a tight angle instead of cutting the ball back across the 6 yard box for others to score at around 55 minutes into the game.

Not sure if you're serious but I was expecting more criticism for the Newcastle goal...He was being murdered on Twitter for it. But I thought Matip could have helped out a bit more, and also it's the kind of shot Ali might have saved. But Trent should not have turned his back on the player. He's young. He'll learn.

About the Twitter thing though... It amazes me that John Stones can have a total mare for City and be the reason they lose and not get half the criticism Trent gets when we concede a goal in a match that ends in a convincing win for us. If he's so bad at defending, you'd think we'd be drawing or losing these games.

[Welshred]

I'm not being serious no, taking the piss out of those who went mental at Salah for not passing during the last match. Trent does the same yesterday and nothing.

[Morgana]

I'm not being serious no, taking the piss out of those who went mental at Salah for not passing during the last match. Trent does the same yesterday and nothing.

  Salah had an unflattering track record to be fair. It's all a reputation game these days.

[PhaseOfPlay]

Not sure if you're serious but I was expecting more criticism for the Newcastle goal...He was being murdered on Twitter for it. But I thought Matip could have helped out a bit more, and also it's the kind of shot Ali might have saved. But Trent should not have turned his back on the player. He's young. He'll learn.

Not sure you're right on any of that. Trent was caught flat-footed, but I don't recall him turning his back at any point. He was caught on his feet with the little skill move, and the shot was a bullet that would have required incredible reaction time and a very long reach to get a solid hand to.

[Dubred]

Not sure you're right on any of that. Trent was caught flat-footed, but I don't recall him turning his back at any point. He was caught on his feet with the little skill move, and the shot was a bullet that would have required incredible reaction time and a very long reach to get a solid hand to.

Aye. Sometimes it's just a good goal and you have to tip your cap to it. Good bit of skill to wrong foot trent and an absolutely sweetly struck shot, put in the perfect place in the goal.

[Redcap]

Some of his crosses looked ridiculously good. The volume of good crosses he and Robbo get into the area, we will inevitably convert a few of them every game, or do enough to destablise a defence so that they're more open to other avenues of attack.

He's a uniquely good player - no one else in the squad even comes close to his quality.

[PhaseOfPlay]

Aye. Sometimes it's just a good goal and you have to tip your cap to it. Good bit of skill to wrong foot trent and an absolutely sweetly struck shot, put in the perfect place in the goal.

Indeed. The goal really started with the lack of pressure on the ball, followed by VVD being a step off where the offside line should have been, and then Trent's unfortunate misstep. But the little bit of skill and the perfection of that shot are two little things you can't take away from Willems. It was just a great, sweetly struck shot.

[tornado]

I think I did hear on some commentator that the Newcastle player who scored was left footed and based off that , Trent was daring him to cut inside and shoot with the right, which he did!

[PhaseOfPlay]

I think I did hear on some commentator that the Newcastle player who scored was left footed and based off that , Trent was daring him to cut inside and shoot with the right, which he did!

He really wasn't - he was moving him away from goal as was right and proper, and Willems duked him by cutting in. You can see the split second that Trent gets caught on his feet as the ball moves in, and at that point, he's fecked as the gap is already created. I don't think anyone expected the ball to be walloped with that force, though.

[penga]

Surprised this thread has only just been bumped back up today, I thought there'd be a lot of people on here telling us how selfish Trent is after he went for goal from a tight angle instead of cutting the ball back across the 6 yard box for others to score at around 55 minutes into the game.

Because no one was free. Mane was being tightly marked with the defender between him and the possible pass from Trent - key difference. Trying to squeeze one near post/through the legs or hoping for a rebound would've probably been a higher % play than squaring it and hoping the defender stuffs up.

[classycarra]

Because no one was free. Mane was being tightly marked with the defender between him and the possible pass from Trent - key difference. Trying to squeeze one near post/through the legs or hoping for a rebound would've probably been a higher % play than squaring it and hoping the defender stuffs up.

Exactly this. Wasn't remotely comparable.

[Welshred]

I disagree. At the moment he shoots if he clips it to the back post Salah and Robertson are waiting to tuck the ball into an empty net. Yet he chooses to shoot.

It's much ado about nothing though because everyone probably would have had a shot but I'm just highlighting how ridiculous people were towards Salah and not applying it to other players.

[El Lobo]

Virg has had a few 40 yard howlers this season too when others were better placed

As Al would put it, ‘he becomes greedier when he’s in a race for the Ballon D’or’

[classycarra]

I disagree. At the moment he shoots if he clips it to the back post Salah and Robertson are waiting to tuck the ball into an empty net. Yet he chooses to shoot.

It's much ado about nothing though because everyone probably would have had a shot but I'm just highlighting how ridiculous people were towards Salah and not applying it to other players.

I don't think that was as easy as you make out. I think he made an intelligent decision to go low and hard. Keeper didn't know how he'd saved it. It could easily have gone in off his legs, or deflected in by the guys running past the first post.

There's slightly more to the two bad shots from VVD though

[Welshred]

Anyway we won the game and Trent was boss again

[classycarra]

Anyway we won the game and Trent was boss again

Exactly.

And we ended up creating a free shot in great goalscoring positions for Robertson and TAA too that they both did well with. Only a matter of time til they add some goals

[Fernando_Torres_Was_Good]

Absolute class, especially in the first half against Napoli. Saved us from certain goal scoring chances from the opposition on at least 4 occasions. "Not as good defensively" is just a myth. He's the real deal.

[Morgana]

Absolute class, especially in the first half against Napoli. Saved us from certain goal scoring chances from the opposition on at least 4 occasions. "Not as good defensively" is just a myth. He's the real deal.

Agree completely. Think he gets a raw deal from fans and some of the pundits on LFC TV always calling for Gomez to replace him because 'Joe is a better defender.' Last night Trent was immense and they don't even bother mentioning how many times he came up big... Yes, they got in behind him a couple times in the first half but he dealt with it extremely well. Surely this deserves some credit.

[RyanBabel19]

Some exceptional defending against Napoli, a few times he tucked in behind the CBs and cut out some very dangerous attacks. Love the foresight to take an extra touch when he was about to boot it clear, saw the Napoli player about to commit and forced him to foul him diffusing the situation. Smart play

[Too early for flapjacks?]

Last season was his first full season as a regular. He's started a total of 52 league games in his career. He's still a baby but already playing at such a high level. Also, his physique has change so much over the last 2 years. From a wirey young lad into a proper athlete.

[Shaved Crossbar]

Last season was his first full season as a regular. He's started a total of 52 league games in his career. He's still a baby but already playing at such a high level. Also, his physique has change so much over the last 2 years. From a wirey young lad into a proper athlete.

He’s got a way to go on the athletic front, of course he is only 20. Right now I still think he tires a little in the second half of games. Anyway, 52 league games and already the best right back in the world.

[harleydanger]

He’s got a way to go on the athletic front, of course he is only 20. Right now I still think he tires a little in the second half of games. Anyway, 52 league games and already the best right back in the world.

I reckon if you look at sprints per game TAA will probably be top of the tree, he has the most turf to cover in our entire setup

[RedSince86]

What a strike!!!

Had to deal with Chelsea's hoofball tactics and did brilliant.

[Gods_Left_Boot]

Great strike for the goal and good defending on his side, with Chelsea overloading that flank and Mo often not helping out.

[Escorcio]

Great strike but think he was poor overall.
His passing % can’t have been much more than 60?

[Ravishing Rick Dude]

I'm in love with this guy.

[Perham]

I love a well worked goal like that. Just so satisfying to look at!