- PLUS how Arne Slot has changed the 26-year-old’s responsibilities at Liverpool
- Join Mail+ for more exclusive scoops, in-depth reporting and analysis from inside the Liverpool camp
With the outside of his right boot, Trent Alexander-Arnold sent the ball down field, skipping along the turf like a child’s stone across a lake. It bent around the feet of West Ham’s Edson Alvarez before the back spin finally took hold and pulled the ball to a near stop just as Mo Salah took it in his stride.
Salah, for once, couldn’t finish the chance but, in that one move 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 are so keen to sign him.
Not since David Beckham has an English wide player been able to play – and see – the passes Alexander Arnold has in his armoury.
‘I see myself in the way he puts the ball in, in what he sees, the long balls he plays,’ Beckham told his former Manchester United team-mate on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast. ‘He plays balls some players don’t even think about.’
Alexander-Arnold has the lot. He has those low cutters down the line he played against West Ham. He has the long, raking missiles across the pitch like the one that began Liverpool’s opener against Manchester City.
He has those curling, sweeping crosses that land on a pin head from miles away like the one for Luis Diaz’s opener against Tottenham. He can play them all – and those are just from this season.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ability with the ball has been key to Liverpool’s success this season
The 26-year-old has demonstrated a range of passing not seen in the Premier League since the days of David Beckham
But the defender’s future at Anfield remains a topic of considerable speculation with his contract set to expire
AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME
It’s no surprise, really, that since he became a first-team regular in 2017-18, no defender has created as many chances (498) in the Premier League, no defender has more assists (62), and no player has played as many forward passes (5,764), more passes into the box (2,506) or found a team-mate with more of their crosses (469) than Alexander-Arnold.
What is so brilliant and dangerous about Alexander-Arnold’s passing range, though, is how those passes consistently rip open defences from a deep position. This season, the average distance of Alexander-Arnold’s completed passes is a smidge over 20 yards, the longest of any Liverpool outfielder and yet this isn’t just kicking for territory.
No defender has completed more passes between the lines — ones that break through the opposition’s midfield or defensive structure to reach a team-mate — since Opta started gathering such data in 2020-21. No player has bypassed more defenders with his passes.
His missiles are laser guided, and no one fires them like him.
REDEFINING RIGHT BACK
In the same way that Ederson under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City redefined the idea of a modern goalkeeper, so too has Alexander-Arnold changed what is expected of a full-back and the influence they can have on a team’s attack.
In that time, though, even how he has played the position has changed – and has changed again under Arne Slot, as shown in the graphic below.
Alexander-Arnold’s ability to get the ball forward effectively has been key for Liverpool since he emerged from the club’s academy
No Premier League defender has registered 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 per cent of his touches in open play came on the right flank. Last season it was less than half as he often tucked into central midfield in Jurgen Klopp’s final campaign.
This term, under Slot, it’s somewhere in between. The best, perhaps, of both worlds.
It’s not just his positioning that’s changed. Slot’s approach is more controlled and he wants the likes of Alexander-Arnold to be more selective in when they try to pierce defences.
‘(Last season) they used every moment they could to play in behind or deep,’ said Slot at the start of the campaign.
‘That meant that the game was sometimes open, so I told them to get a better judgment in risk and reward. If you can put someone through in front of the goalkeeper, please try to do so. If not, sometimes it’s a good idea to keep the ball.’
Alexander-Arnold is still Liverpool’s creator-in-chief but he’s passing the ball less, 56 per game against an average of 70 over the previous four campaigns. His passes into the box have dropped from 12 to 9.4. He’s averaging 3.5 fewer long passes to last season.
Last term, his most common passes were crosses into the box or balls down the line towards the final third, this season they are sideways and backwards in his own half.
Liverpool have less possession under Slot than Klopp so, naturally, Alexander-Arnold’s numbers will drop but, even though he’s still firing in his missiles, it suggests he’s being more cautious.
| Chances created | Liverpool rank | Presses into box | Liverpool rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 2.3 | 1.9 |
| Passes | 70.7 | 68 | 70.9 | 70.2 | 56 |
| Passes into box | 12.3 | 12.4 | 12 | 11.3 | 9.4 |
| Passes forward | 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 passes in opposition half | 33.6 | 33.7 | 31.1 | 31.6 | 24.7 |
During Jurgen Klopp’s final season on Merseyside, Alexander-Arnold was regularly deployed in central midfield
This season however, Arne Slot has appeared to find the best of both worlds with Alexander-Arnold drifting centrally from right-back to deliver defence-piercing passes
In the Dutchman’s system, the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister have began to share in the responsibility for producing passes between the lines
A READY-MADE REPLACEMENT?
If that is the case, if Slot does not require a constant artillery bombardment of long balls and crosses from his full-backs, does he have a ready-made successor in Conor Bradley if the Madrid move does happen?
It was Bradley who kept Kylian Mbappe in his pocket when Liverpool beat Madrid in the Champions League in November. He’s shown, whenever he’s had his chance, that he can cut it at the top level even if he, like almost everyone else, cannot play the passes Alexander-Arnold can.
Slot’s style might not need Alexander-Arnold to build the club in his image but having someone like him, someone so unique and who can unpick any defence from distance when needed, is a handy weapon to have and one he 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 box | 11.5 | 3.2 |
| Tackles | 1.8 | 3.3 |
| Interceptions | 1.3 | 1.1 |
| Possession won | 6.9 | 6.1 |
A REAL ANSWER TO MADRID’S PROBLEMS
Real Madrid have struggled to adapt to life without playmaker Toni Kroos, who retired in the summer. Carlo Ancelotti’s side are second in La Liga and are in danger of elimination from the Champions League with fans frustrated at their stunted attack.
Alexander-Arnold would be the successor to ageing and injured right-back Dani Carvajal but his skills would help Ancelotti solve his Kroos-less problem.
Kroos was integral to Madrid’s build-up play as he often dropped into defence to pick up the ball and either split the midfield with passes between the lines or switch play with raking cross-field balls as by far the best long passer in La Liga. Remind you of anyone?
Conor Bradley has proven to be a capable deputy for the Reds when Alexander-Arnold has been unavailable
Alexander-Arnold could provide Real Madrid the creative spark they have lacked since Toni Kroos’ departure
The England international fired a bullet of a long ball as Liverpool comfortably defeated Man City last month
Against Spurs Alexander-Arnold provided a pin-point cross for Luis Diaz to head home
His latest contribution would have gone down as one of the best assists in Premier League history if Mohamed Salah had finished it off
TRENT’S TOP THREE PASSES OF THE SEASON
1. GUIDED MISSILE v MAN CITY
Alexander-Arnold picks up the ball in a central position and fires a bullet of a long ball beyond enemy lines for Salah to chase. Salah collects it and sets up Cody Gakpo for Liverpool’s opener.
2. UNDEFENDABLE CROSS v Tottenham
Alexander-Arnold whips in a cross from deep, curling behind the Spurs defensive line, and Luis Diaz meets it to head it home.
‘The cross is something else,’ said Gary Neville on co-commentary. There are very few players in Premier League history who can land it on a sixpence like that, with that level of accuracy, speed and whip.’
3. GRASS CUTTER v West Ham
Alexander-Arnold fizzes a low ball down the channel with the outside of his boot, curls it around Edson Alvarez, and into the path of Salah.
The Liverpool forward misses the chance to score what would have been one of the greatest assists in Premier League history.