Trent in midfield: Can it work for a new-look Liverpool side?
Trent Alexander-Arnold holds the unfortunate title of being the most talked about Liverpool player during the summer break. Most recently, he’s been linked with moves away from Anfield – though reports seemingly suggest he’s already decided to stay for the foreseeable future. Before that, he was one of the big talking points during England’s Euro 2024 campaign. Scoring the winning penalty against Switzerland will always grab the headlines but Trent had unfairly become the scapegoat for the side’s earlier performances when deployed in midfield.
It was a strange Euros for Liverpool fans as we started seeing our man lambasted for poor displays in central midfield. After the first two games, he barely played another serious minute, other than coming on to score the aforementioned penalty against the Swiss. We were also in the very rare position of agreeing with Gary Neville as he said it was “criminal” for the fullback to not start ahead of Trippier in defence.
A rollercoaster of emotions for sure – though there is one key point we’re interested in. Can Trent in midfield be a viable option for this new-look Liverpool under Arne Slot? We finished in 3rd place last term and are third favourites to lift the trophy next season. Indeed, you’ll get fantastic odds on us at plenty of casinos not on GamStop listed by NonGamStopOdds. Could switching Trent to a midfield role give us the boost we need or is it an experiment not even worth trying?
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Why Trent works well as a midfielder
The case for Alexander-Arnold as a midfielder has been built from a series of great performances in that position for Liverpool in the past. Most football fans will look at the Euros and point at his poor performances for England, but true Liverpool fans remember games back in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons where Klopp deployed him in various midfield roles (when in possession).
One Sky Sports report from a match against Fulham dubbed him the “midfield maestro” after he started the game in defensive midfield and moved ahead into a more attacking role. He forced an own goal from a free kick before rifling in a winner on the edge of the box. Similar success was found in a few games either starting or switching to midfield the year before.
Look, managers keep putting him in this role for a reason and it’s likely down to some of his key attributes. WhoScored has loads of data on football players and lists their strengths and weaknesses. For Trent, some of the key strengths are:
- Crossing
- Key passes
- Direct free-kicks
- Taking set pieces
- Dribbling
- Passing
- Ball interception
It goes on to summarise his style of play as this:
- Likes to play long balls
- Plays the ball off the ground often
- Likes to cross
- Does not dive into tackles
When you look at it like that, he’s got all the attributes you’re looking for in a central midfielder.
In a direct comparison with Liverpool’s other key central midfielders (Ryan Gravenbach, Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Allister & Dominik Szoboszlai) he has one key skill none of these possess. The former two are more defensive minded with the latter two being more attacking threats. None of them are particularly good at long passing – but this is where Trent excels and it could be great in the new-look side.
Arne Slot deploys a typical “Dutch” system
Slot comes to Anfield after multiple seasons in the Eredivisie where he deployed a very traditional “Dutch” system at his clubs. This involves a central striker flanked by two fast wingers. With Nunez and Salah still on the books at Liverpool, he’s got two rapid players to call upon for these wide roles.
As such, it makes sense to have someone pulling the strings from deep in midfield while making forward runs. Trent could be that guy, playing a role similar to Wesley Sneijder in his peak during the Dutch National team’s glory years. He has the potential to sit back and play long balls over the top to fast wingers, stretching defences and creating space. Then, he can arrive late and score goals from the edge of the box.
It all feels like it’s falling nicely into place – but there are some issues many fans still have with this idea.
Why Trent works poorly as a midfielder
For all this talk of the 25-year-old playing well in midfield, he’s only started as a central midfielder four times for Liverpool – as per Transfermarkt – and most of his games come for England in Euro qualifiers.
If we revert to the WhoScored data for a moment, there’s a stark difference in his average rating when playing his two main roles:
- Right Back – 7.23
- Central Midfield – 6.58
Ultimately, the argument against Trent being a central midfielder is simple; he’s better when he plays right back. Crossing and passing are his key strengths, but he can still do both when deployed out wide. He’s able to make more attacking runs too and can continue taking set pieces for the team.
And then there are the defensive weaknesses. Ironically, moving Trent into midfield is sometimes seen as a ploy to cover his poor tackling and defensive positioning. But surely this remains an issue in the middle of the park? Liverpool have better defensive midfielders to call upon for breaking up attacks – and you could argue they also have better attacking midfielders too.
No room for Trent in this Liverpool midfield
Following on from above, it’s hard to see where our No.66 slots into the Liverpool midfield. We’ve got some of the best central midfielders in the league and it’s hard to upgrade them. For me, Trent is a better right back than most and we get more value from him in that position.
That’s why, overall, I don’t think Trent in midfield will work under a new-look Arne Slot. He can still call upon his passing range to stretch the pitch from right back, possibly moving him into midfield late in matches when we’re chasing a goal. There are bags of talent in Trent’s feet – that’s undeniable – but is he a better midfielder than right back? I’m not so sure!
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