Liverpool boss Arne Slot has conceded that he might have got it wrong when using Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield earlier this season. The Dutch tactician is on the cusp of clinching the Premier League title, with his team only needing a draw against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield to secure the trophy.
The Reds currently lead the pack by 12 points with a mere five matches left to play, and have suffered only two defeats in the league during the entire campaign. Yet, Slot openly regrets Liverpool’s narrow defeat by Nottingham Forest back in September.
Coming off the bench to make an impact was Callum Hudson-Odoi, who netted the game’s only goal in the 72nd minute. He struck from the edge of the penalty area after slipping past Conor Bradley, the young Northern Ireland defender who had been subbed on just minutes before, prompting Slot to shift Alexander-Arnold into midfield.
Discussing the season on Men in Blazers, Slot revealed his second thoughts about repositioning his vice-captain, who, with his contract running out at season’s end and a potential move to Real Madrid on the horizon, hasn’t been asked to play in midfield ever since.
“Probably a few things,” he said when asked if there anything he would do differently. “It would be weird if you make five, 10, 15 decisions on a daily basis, that every decision you made was the right one to make.
“I do remember, now you’re asking me, that when we lost against Forest at home, in the last 20 or 25 minutes, I played Trent in the midfield. At that moment in time, I felt maybe he could also be an attacking midfielder.
“I think I played him as an attacking midfielder, one of the two No. 8s, which wasn’t a big success at that moment. I’ve never done it afterwards again.
“Is that a mistake? Yes or no? I don’t know. It took me maybe a bit of time to get to know the players really well. You don’t do this after a week, and unfortunately I only had 14 or 15 of them only for two weeks before the season started.”
Slot hasn’t got much wrong this season and is set to become a league champion at the first time of asking. This summer, though, will give him a proper chance to work with his players and make a few signings.
“Sometimes you try things, sometimes they work out well, sometimes they don’t work out that well,” he continued. “But us losing against Forest did not have to do that much with Trent playing on the midfield, but it wasn’t something I did frequently afterwards.”
Slot picked Virgil van Dijk’s late winner at home to West Ham United as his highlight of the season so far. But admitted he hopes the most special moment is still to come.
“[It was] special when Virgil, just before the end, headed the goal in against West Ham,” Slot said. “Trent [Alexander-Arnold] doing this 10 minutes before the end against Leicester. I think big players always show up in big moments and that’s what they did.
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“But I can also come up with Brentford away: 90 minutes played, 0-0, Darwin Nunez scoring a goal and I think Trent assisted that one as well. We’ve had a few of those big moments during the season.
“I cannot pick one but if I really have to, I think the moment after conceding the 1-1 against West Ham where everybody probably felt, ‘Ooh, this is going to be difficult, maybe even to bring a 1-1 over the line’.
“Then the team stepped up, the fans stepped up for two minutes and they were just flying at that moment. As a result of that, we got a corner kick when Virgil scored the goal.
“The emotions that ran through him, through the stadium, through the staff, through everyone, that was a beautiful moment. But I hope the most beautiful one is still to come.”
Liverpool.com says: If Alexander-Arnold is to leave in the summer, then Bradley should be used at right-back until then. The Reds need to make a decision on whether or not the Northern Irishman is ready to take on the mantle if, as looks likely, it comes to that. Upcoming matches against Chelsea and Arsenal would offer the perfect chance to carry on testing him out.
