Topic: Trent Alexander-Arnold

[Knight]

What are his on ball weaknesses? I think back to the game he really went fully inverted - the Arsenal 2-2 at Anfield last season - and he didn’t have any issues picking the ball up essentially in the Pirlo role. I think you’re guilty of overthinking it because he occasionally gets caught with his back to goal, a lot of midfielders tend to get caught with their back to goal, it’s why having centre halves that look to receive bounce passes and progress forwards is so important. Trent would be fine playing any of the roles in our midfield, it might require some adjustments elsewhere but I’d be pretty confident he could play the left 8 like Thiago did or the right 8 not a million miles off how he plays his current inverted position. The deeper 6 role would be a breeze against 75% of premier league sides.

He's not that press resistant, he's not very good on the half turn. He prefers the play in front of him.

[DiggerJohn]

Its going to be very interesting to see where the new manager next season will play him.  Also final year of his contract too

[Eeyore]

He's not that press resistant, he's not very good on the half turn. He prefers the play in front of him.

Exactly even worse tying him down to one rigid position makes it much harder for him to get on the ball and influence games.

[Garlic Red]

He's not that press resistant, he's not very good on the half turn. He prefers the play in front of him.

Has every midfielder we’ve played under Klopp been press resistant? Think I’ve seen us play Milner/Fab/Henderson loads of times, it hardly screams press resistance and half turns, does it?

I think our obsession with flaws and not thinking about the potential positives is a little silly at times. Trent possesses qualities that pretty much nobody outside of KDB possesses, I’m sure Jurgen can find a way to minimise his flaws and exaggerate his qualities, it’s what he’s always done with our team since he arrived here. When Bradley returns to the side, I look forward to seeing how he uses Trent in more advanced or more central positions. I too echo the thoughts that it wouldn’t be the worst idea to try Bradley further ahead and keep Trent inverting. We use Elliott very wide when he plays and for me he doesn’t offer the same over/underlapping qualities that Henderson used to bring to the role, Bradley could.

[RedG13]

Has every midfielder we’ve played under Klopp been press resistant? Think I’ve seen us play Milner/Fab/Henderson loads of times, it hardly screams press resistance and half turns, does it?

I think our obsession with flaws and not thinking about the potential positives is a little silly at times. Trent possesses qualities that pretty much nobody outside of KDB possesses, I’m sure Jurgen can find a way to minimise his flaws and exaggerate his qualities, it’s what he’s always done with our team since he arrived here. When Bradley returns to the side, I look forward to seeing how he uses Trent in more advanced or more central positions. I too echo the thoughts that it wouldn’t be the worst idea to try Bradley further ahead and keep Trent inverting. We use Elliott very wide when he plays and for me he doesn’t offer the same over/underlapping qualities that Henderson used to bring to the role, Bradley could.

Every Midfield that Klopp has Signed has been Press resistant.

[Garlic Red]

Every Midfield that Klopp has Signed has been Press resistant.

You could debate Keita. On his good days he was, his worst performances all came when he was pressed and too weak to hold the ball up, though. Wijnaldum was obviously the best example of being press resistant but I still think Trent’s fine and would improve with time in the role. Not everyone has to be the perfect midfielder, it’s about balance. We have plenty of press resistant midfielders, I’m sure we can shoehorn Trent into one of the roles as the de facto playmaker and ask him to control and create, he’s brilliant at it.

[DiggerJohn]

Every Midfield that Klopp has Signed has been Press resistant.

I won't say Endo is press resistant or Fabinho

[RedG13]

You could debate Keita. On his good days he was, his worst performances all came when he was pressed and too weak to hold the ball up, though. Wijnaldum was obviously the best example of being press resistant but I still think Trent’s fine and would improve with time in the role. Not everyone has to be the perfect midfielder, it’s about balance. We have plenty of press resistant midfielders, I’m sure we can shoehorn Trent into one of the roles as the de facto playmaker and ask him to control and create, he’s brilliant at it.

Keita was super press resistant. His issue was health not on the field.

I won't say Endo is press resistant or Fabinho

Endo is an 90th+ percentile passer under pressure and Fabinho was a 90th+ percentiles passers under pressure during his time at Liverpool

[Garlic Red]

Keita was super press resistant. His issue was health not on the field.

I was a massive fan of a fit Keita, but let’s not kid ourselves. He could be press resistant, there were plenty of games where he wasn’t and teams got a lot of joy pressing him with his back to goal. At his best he could turn a la Gini and start the attack, but there were plenty of performances where he was slow to control the ball, make his decision and wasn’t strong enough to hold off his opponents. As I said, I rated the player but we haven’t always had a really fluid midfield of press resistant players like the ones we signed in the summer. It can be worked around and Trent isn’t a disaster against the press, I’ve seen him escape the press and play with higher tempo to avoid it.

[Knight]

Keita not press resistant, at this point we’re off in never, never land.

[DiggerJohn]

Keita was super press resistant. His issue was health not on the field.
Endo is an 90th+ percentile passer under pressure and Fabinho was a 90th+ percentiles passers under pressure during his time at Liverpool

If all this is true Liverpool can still struggle to play out of the press. Fabinho doesn't seem as smooth calm on the ball as say Rodri

[Knight]

If all this is true Liverpool can still struggle to play out of the press. Fabinho doesn't seem as smooth calm on the ball as say Rodri

Multiple things are true here.
1) Klopp has always/ almost always signed press resistant players.
2) Some of those he’s signed have been more press resistant than others. Fabinho was a real upgrade on Henderson in this regard but it wasn’t his outstanding quality.
4) we struggle to pass through a press on occasion and this is partly due to systemic issues.
5) Trent’s on ball abilities are outstanding but his weakest on ball qualities are press resistance and playing on the half turn.

[FlashGordon]

Multiple things are true here.
1) Klopp has always/ almost always signed press resistant players.
2) Some of those he’s signed have been more press resistant than others. Fabinho was a real upgrade on Henderson in this regard but it wasn’t his outstanding quality.
4) we struggle to pass through a press on occasion and this is partly due to systemic issues.
5) Trent’s on ball abilities are outstanding but his weakest on ball qualities are press resistance and playing on the half turn.

See this said a lot, is it backed up by data whilst playing in midfield?

[Knight]

See this said a lot, is it backed up by data whilst playing in midfield?

He’s only ever played for England against weak opposition and cor a few minutes here and there as a 6 this season.

[FlashGordon]

He’s only ever played for England against weak opposition and cor a few minutes here and there as a 6 this season.

He spent a lot of time in midfield for us towards the end of last season, the eye test said he was actually pretty impressive there in evading the press and finding space.

[Garlic Red]

Keita not press resistant, at this point we’re off in never, never land.

I’m just saying he wasn’t always press resistant because he wasn’t. I was a massive fan of his and would have been firmly in the trenches arguing he was a good player for us if I was a member on here. But there’s no denying he was too easily pressed and too easy to dispossess, particularly when he started games. He had lovely feet when he was fit and in form, he wasn’t the strongest at times and didn’t always thrive with his back to goal.

[Knight]

I’m just saying he wasn’t always press resistant because he wasn’t. I was a massive fan of his and would have been firmly in the trenches arguing he was a good player for us if I was a member on here. But there’s no denying he was too easily pressed and too easy to dispossess, particularly when he started games. He had lovely feet when he was fit and in form, he wasn’t the strongest at times and didn’t always thrive with his back to goal.

Sure, he wasn’t perfect, but when he played well, which was most of the time for us, he was very press resistant.

[Nick110581]

Assume he was injured?

[Phineus]

“It’s not fine” - Klopp on Trent’s injury.

Damn.

[Nick110581]

Klopp confirmed he felt his knee again.

[duvva 💅]

Hopefully it’s not too bad. At least Bradley is due back this week

[Nick110581]

Hopefully it’s not too bad. At least Bradley is due back this week

Bradley needs as much time as possible.

[DelTrotter]

Recurrence FC, bizarre how often this seems to happen with us.

[MonsLibpool]

Klopp confirmed he felt his knee again.

Was his last layoff a knee injury?

[SamLad]

Bradley needs as much time as possible.

yeah I don't think his return date has been confirmed at all.

[duvva 💅]

Bradley needs as much time as possible.

Sure it’s been reported he’s due back this week. I’ve no doubt he’s been given the choice rather than put under any pressure to return

[Haggis36]

I'm less concerned that I would have been earlier in the season thanks to the emergence of Bradley and the return to form of Gomez.

You could even argue we looked more balanced with Bradley on the right, it will just require other players to step up in terms of creativity, but we might be a bit more solid defensively as a result.

Wonder if we rushed him back, as it seems like a re-occurence of the earlier injury?

[newterp]

Rest Trent for the rest of the month.

[Nick110581]

Klopp says Alexander-Arnold felt his knee when he got his studs stuck in the ground, hence his substitution.

Alisson and Gomez absent due to flu, and Gravenberch was also struggling with it

[Fromola]

Sure it’s been reported he’s due back this week. I’ve no doubt he’s been given the choice rather than put under any pressure to return

You've got Gomez now to cover with the left backs back fit anyway.

[SamLad]

You've got Gomez now to cover with the left backs back fit anyway.

once he's over the flu.

[duvva 💅]

You've got Gomez now to cover with the left backs back fit anyway.

Hopefully he’s well again in time for next Saturday.

As I said in the full time thread this week off is vital for us

[Fromola]

once he's over the flu.

Yeah he might not be able to train normally through the week but it gives us that extra senior right back option again which is less pressure on Bradley.

[Caps4444]

Yeah he might not be able to train normally through the week but it gives us that extra senior right back option again which is less pressure on Bradley.

Squad will be rotated over the next 2 games, super strong v Brentford, rotation in defence and midfield v Luton and then super strong v Chelsea before rotation for Soton

[Samie]

[Persephone]

Squad will be rotated over the next 2 games, super strong v Brentford, rotation in defence and midfield v Luton and then super strong v Chelsea before rotation for Soton

It's sweet that you think we'll have enough players to rotate. Every time we've thought our players would be coming back, they either get reinjured or sick. It's like we've got a curse on us.

[RedG13]

Hope Trent is fine. Smart to take him off as a precaution and not risk anything else.

[TAA66]

Hope Trent is fine. Smart to take him off as a precaution and not risk anything else.

Hopefully it’s not too serious, but that’s 2 key players getting the same injury they were supposed to have recovered from in a week.

[Redbonnie]

Lovely how his lipstick matches his shirt

[SamLad]

Lovely how his lipstick matches his shirt

all that kissing-the-badge stuff.