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With the outside of his right boot, Trent Alexander-Arnold sent the ball downfield, skipping across the grass like a child’s stone across a lake. He bent around the feet of West Ham’s Edson Alvarez before the backspin finally took hold and brought the ball almost to a stop just as Mo Salah took it in stride.
Salah, for once, failed to take advantage of the opportunity but, in that play during Liverpool’s 5-0 win over the Hammers last month, Alexander-Arnold showed why he is one of the best passers in world football and why Real Madrid is so eager to sign him.
Not since David Beckham has an English player been able to play (and see) the passes that Alexander Arnold has in his arsenal.
“I see myself in the way he puts the ball in, in what he sees, in the long balls he plays,” Beckham told his former Manchester United teammate on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast. “He plays balls that some players don’t even think about.”
Alexander-Arnold has it all. He has those low cuts in the line that he played against West Ham. He has long, raking missiles across the pitch like the one that started Liverpool’s first game against Manchester City.
He has those wide, curved crosses that land on the head of a pin miles away, like the one in Luis Díaz’s first game against Tottenham. You can play them all, and those are just from this season.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ability on the ball has been key to Liverpool’s success this season
The 26-year-old has shown a passing ability not seen in the Premier League since the days of David Beckham.
But the defender’s future at Anfield remains a subject of considerable speculation as his contract is set to expire.
AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME
It’s really no surprise that since becoming a first-team regular in 2017-18, no defender has created as many chances (498) in the Premier League, no defender has provided more assists (62) and no player has played as well. . many forward passes (5,764), more passes into the area (2,506) or found a teammate with more crosses (469) than Alexander-Arnold.
However, what is so brilliant and dangerous about Alexander-Arnold’s passing range is how those passes consistently open up defenses from a deep position. This season, the average distance of Alexander-Arnold’s completed passes is just over 20 yards, the longest of any Liverpool outfielder, and yet this isn’t just territory kicking.
No defender has completed more passes between the lines (those that cross the opponent’s midfield or defensive structure to reach a teammate) since Opta began collecting such data in 2020-21. No player has passed more defenders with his passes.
His missiles are laser-guided and no one fires them like he does.
REDEFINING THE LAW
In the same way that Ederson under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City redefined the idea of a modern goalkeeper, Alexander-Arnold has also changed what is expected of a full-back and the influence he can have on a team’s attack.
However, in that time, even the way he played the position changed, and it changed again under Arne Slot, as shown in the graph below.
Alexander-Arnold’s ability to advance the ball effectively has been key for Liverpool since coming out of the club’s academy.
No Premier League defender has provided more assists than Alexander-Arnold since his debut
In Liverpool’s title-winning season, Alexander-Arnold hugged the touchline like a traditional full-back. Nearly 75 percent of his touches in open play came on the right flank. Last season it was less than half that, as he often dropped into midfield in Jurgen Klopp’s final campaign.
This term, under Slot, is somewhere in between. The best, perhaps, of both worlds.
It is not just his position that has changed. Slot’s approach is more controlled and he wants players like Alexander-Arnold to be more selective when trying to pierce defences.
“(Last season) they took advantage of every moment they could to play at the back or deep,” Slot said at the start of the campaign.
‘That meant the game was sometimes open, so I told them to judge risk and reward better. If you can pass someone in front of the goalkeeper, try to do it. If not, sometimes it’s a good idea to keep the ball.
Alexander-Arnold remains Liverpool’s creator-in-chief, but he passes the ball less, 56 per game, compared to an average of 70 in the previous four seasons. His passes into the area have dropped from 12 to 9.4. He is averaging 3.5 fewer long passes than last season.
Last season, his most common passes were crosses into the area or longitudinal balls towards the final third, this season they are sideways and backwards in his own half.
Liverpool have less possession with Slot than Klopp so naturally Alexander-Arnold’s numbers will drop but, although he is still firing his missiles, it suggests he is being more cautious.
| Opportunities created | Liverpool standings | Press on the box | Liverpool standings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 87 | 1st | 509 | 1st |
| 2020-21 | 77 | 1st | 413 | 1st |
| 2021-22 | 90 | 1st | 394 | 1st |
| 2022-23 | 71 | 1st | 390 | 1st |
| 2023-24 | 64 | = 2nd | 271 | 1st |
| 2024-25 | 36 | = 1st | 138 | 1st |
| 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| successful crosses | 2 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 23 | 1.9 |
| Passes | 70.7 | 68 | 70.9 | 70.2 | 56 |
| Go to the box | 12.3 | 12.4 | 12 | 11.3 | 9.4 |
| go ahead | 27.7 | 28.3 | 29 | 30.4 | 24.9 |
| long passes | 9.8 | 12 | 12.2 | 13.8 | 10.3 |
| Successful long passes | 4.5 | 6.4 | 6 | 6.1 | 4.2 |
| Success happens in the opposite field | 33.6 | 33.7 | 31.1 | 31.6 | 24.7 |
During Jurgen Klopp’s final season on Merseyside, Alexander-Arnold was regularly in central midfield.
This season, however, Arne Slot appears to have found the best of both worlds with Alexander-Arnold moving centrally from the right back to make defence-piercing passes.
In the Dutchman’s system, players like Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister have begun to share the responsibility of producing passes between the lines.
A REPLACEMENT READY?
If that’s the case, if Slot doesn’t require a constant artillery barrage of long balls and crosses from his full-backs, does he have a ready-made successor in Conor Bradley if Madrid’s move goes through?
It was Bradley who kept Kylian Mbappé in the pocket when Liverpool beat Madrid in the Champions League in November. He has shown, whenever he has had the opportunity, that he can do it at the highest level even if he, like almost everyone else, can’t make the passes that Alexander-Arnold can make.
Slot’s style may not need Alexander-Arnold to build the club in his image, but having someone like him, someone so unique and who can break down any defense from distance when necessary, is a useful weapon and one that I should be desperate not to lose. .
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | Conor Bradley | |
|---|---|---|
| Chances created (open play) | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| successful crosses | 2.2 | 0.4 |
| Passes played into the area. | 11.5 | 3.2 |
| Tickets | 1.8 | 3.3 |
| Interceptions | 1.3 | 1.1 |
| possession won | 6.9 | 6.1 |
A REAL RESPONSE TO MADRID’S PROBLEMS
Real Madrid have struggled to adapt to life without playmaker Toni Kroos, who retired in the summer. Carlo Ancelotti’s team are second in La Liga and are in danger of being eliminated from the Champions League due to fans’ frustration over their stunted attack.
Alexander-Arnold would be the successor to veteran and injured right-back Dani Carvajal, but his skills would help Ancelotti solve his problem without Kroos.
Kroos was an integral part of Madrid’s build-up to the game, often diving into defense to collect the ball and split the midfield with passes between the lines or change play with cross-field passes as by far the best long passer. of the League. Does it remind you of anyone?
Conor Bradley has proven to be a capable substitute for the Reds when Alexander-Arnold was unavailable
Alexander-Arnold could give Real Madrid the creative spark it lacks since the departure of Toni Kroos
The England international fired a long ball as Liverpool comfortably defeated Man City last month.
Against Spurs, Alexander-Arnold provided a precise cross for Luis Díaz to head home.
His latest contribution would have been considered one of the best assists in Premier League history if Mohamed Salah had finished it.
TRENT’S THREE BEST PASSES OF THE SEASON
1. GUIDED MISSILES AGAINST MAN CITY
Alexander-Arnold collects the ball in a central position and fires a long ball beyond the enemy lines for Salah to chase. Salah picks him up and prepares Cody Gakpo for Liverpool’s first game.
2. INDEFENDABLE CROSSING against Tottenham
Alexander-Arnold delivers a cross from deep, getting behind the Spurs defensive line, and Luis Díaz receives it to head home.
“The cross is something else,” said Gary Neville in the joint commentary. “There are very few players in the history of the Premier League who can achieve it with that much money, with that level of precision, speed and whip.”
3. LAWN MOWER v West Ham
Alexander-Arnold flicks a low ball down the channel with the outside of his boot, curls it around Edson Alvarez and into Salah’s path.
The Liverpool striker misses the opportunity to score what would have been one of the greatest assists in Premier League history.