Under Arne Slot’s tutelage, Trent Alexander-Arnold has experienced a transformation in his role at Liverpool, adopting fewer creative duties. The 26-year-old defender has been instrumental in the Reds’ formidable season, as they march towards Premier League glory.
With the campaign winding down to its final nine games, Liverpool boasts a solid 12-point advantage over their nearest rivals, Arsenal. Yet, there’s a cloud of uncertainty over when Alexander-Arnold will return to action due to an ankle injury he picked up earlier in the month.
Speculation continues over the defender’s future and it emerged last week that Real Madrid is growing in confidence of signing Alexander-Arnold on a free transfer. To date, no fresh contract has been signed with Liverpool, and the vice-captain’s existing agreement is due to run out at the season’s end, coinciding with those of teammates Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.
Alexander-Arnold has earned Slot’s admiration for his attacking flair and improved defensive capabilities, yet his role has undeniably shifted from the days of Jurgen Klopp’s management, a change the player himself has noted.
“[The role] depends on the game because if you think of Man United away, I played almost like a No.10. I was higher up the pitch because of the way they pressed,” Alexander-Arnold said back in October.
“In certain games I’ll be inside because of the way they [the opposition] press – sometimes they press differently. It all varies on how they press.”
In this campaign, Alexander-Arnold’s interactions with progressive passes have dwindled, and he’s registering personal lows in delivering balls to the final third and into the penalty area.
(Image: PA)
Nevertheless, even as he retreats from his usual attacking spearhead position, he recognises that tactical tweaks by Slot are carving out fresh avenues for him to leave his mark on matches. “The manager will dissect how they press so we can outnumber the way they press,” he conceded.
“If they press with three, we’ll have four players around, so that we can play through them. If they press with a two then there’ll be three players, et cetera, et cetera. It’s just about who those players are and where it works best.”
“So, wherever the manager tells me to be, I’ll be there because he’ll tell me that’s most likely where you’ll get the ball. And if that changes then he’ll tell me during the game, ‘you’re not getting the ball there, try there and maybe surprise him in there and see if that works’. Throughout the game, there’s a lot of things going on but if I understand it then it’ll work. So far it has.”
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Arne Slot also shared his intent to fine-tune Alexander-Arnold’s defensive talent, which has been under the microscope.
In a January conversation with TNT Sports, Slot talked about the advancements of one of his players: “When we started to work together, I emphasised also a bit on his defensive work.
“He had to keep producing the numbers in assisting goals, but if we wanted to be a team that concedes less shots, he had to improve a bit in defending. We have spoken a lot to him about consistency.
“Because he’s been quite long with this club, he sometimes trains or has played games like, ‘Ah, it’s another one from 200 that I’ve already played or all these sessions I’ve already had’. This is where we’ve worked on, and I think we can see the progression he has made.”
