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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.
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But sometimes it was just the full backs switching play between themselves, like Cafu and Roberto Carlos used to for Brazil.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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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