In Sunday’s Liverpool victory over Fulham, it took Trent Alexander-Arnold less than three minutes to demonstrate the extraordinary qualities that make him indispensable to Jurgen Klopp’s team.
Within 90 seconds, a penetrating pass from deep in his own half nearly set Luis Diaz loose behind the defense. Soon after, another found him in space for an attack on the right. Then, at the other end, an inch-perfect cross that the Colombian should have converted into a goal.
Of course, Alexander-Arnold’s most memorable contribution was the stunning free-kick that broke the deadlock at Craven Cottage. But on his first Premier League start since February following a knee injury, that brilliant opening goal was just one facet of a performance that showcased the transformative potential of his return.
“It’s super important,” Klopp said of the 24-year-old’s comeback afterwards. “One of the shooting stars of this season is Conor Bradley, who played the position and played in a few games where we all thought, ‘Oh wow. What was that?’ But nobody is like Trent.
“Nobody is like Trent.”
Indeed, no one can replicate his interpretation of the right-back role in this team. The sight of Alexander-Arnold popping up in midfield is nothing new. However, the sheer variety of positions he took up against Fulham was remarkable.
Consider those early passes aimed towards Diaz. The first came from the right-hand side of Liverpool’s back three in possession, with left-back Andrew Robertson pushed forward on the opposite flank. Nothing too unusual there. However, the second was delivered from the center of the back three, having swapped positions with right-sided center-back Jarell Quansah to assume a role akin to that of a quarterback.
This interchanging of positions with Quansah in possession became a feature of Liverpool’s performance on the day, with the aim of maximizing Alexander-Arnold’s influence. It worked. Alexander-Arnold had more time on the ball and a broader range of options to aim at. According to Opta’s advanced metrics, he was involved in more open-play passing sequences than anyone else on the pitch despite missing the last 10 minutes plus stoppage time.
“The manager has told me to get into that position to try to get on the ball and find those passes over the top,” Alexander-Arnold explained to Sky Sports afterwards.
But it wasn’t just about playing long passes. At other times, he played short instead. In the example below, in the 16th minute, he threads a clever disguised pass through to Diaz, who has also drifted inside, allowing Liverpool to attack through the center.
And yet, despite often operating from this new position at the base of the team, Alexander-Arnold still found time to roam into midfield, where he helped sustain pressure, and towards the right side, from where he created that glorious early chance for Diaz.
“I’ve described him in the past as being like Kevin De Bruyne at right-back,” said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher afterwards. “I’m looking at him today thinking he’s got a free role.
“I think there are a lot of full-backs playing the role where they are going into midfield. They go there to get on the ball, they are trying to stop counter-attacks. But this feels a little bit like he can go between the center-backs, he can go into midfield, he can go wide.
“He can basically go wherever the space is because he has got such quality on the ball.”
That quality on the ball was particularly helpful straight after half-time against Fulham, when the hosts were seeking to build on Timothy Castagne’s equalizer in first-half stoppage time. Liverpool needed cool-headedness to tilt the momentum back in their favor following that sucker-punch and it was noticeable how they looked to Alexander-Arnold to supply it.
Indeed, nearly a quarter of his 74 attempted passes came in the eight-minute period between the start of the second half and Ryan Gravenberch scoring Liverpool’s second.
Among them were a stunning switch of play to find Robertson, a nonchalant lay-off for Diaz using his chest, and a slide-rule pass through the lines to release Gravenberch. His confidence and composure on the ball put the team at ease at a crucial point of the game, while also maintaining their attacking impetus and ensuring Fulham were forced onto the back foot.
The goal, when it came, owed a lot to Gravenberch’s individual quality, but it was thanks to Alexander-Arnold that Liverpool were able to navigate that potentially stormy period, and it was thanks to him, too, that they had gone in front in the first place.
His free-kick, lifted into the top corner in sublime style, was another example of what Liverpool lacked without him. When finishing simple chances becomes an issue, as it had for Klopp’s side recently, you need someone who can convert the difficult ones. The goal was his sixth from a direct free-kick in the Premier League, putting him behind only Jamie Redknapp and Steven Gerrard among Liverpool players. It also took him to 100 goal involvements for the club, an extraordinary tally for a right-back of only 24 years old.
But then, his performance against Fulham was a reminder that he is so much more than a right-back. Liverpool will need his control and quality again in the bear pit of Goodison Park, live on Sky Sports on Wednesday, and in the games remaining after that. But their title hopes already look brighter now that he is back. It took him less than three minutes against Fulham to show why.
