Trent’s Position Against Spurs Points to Wider Role | OneFootball

Trent’s Position Against Spurs Points to Wider Role

Once the name Arne Slot crept into the realm of the Liverpool related sphere a few weeks ago, it would have enabled a domino effect to occur within certain circles of this illustrious football club. Though the current regime is still ticking down till its final day, one must assume that the new structure and strategy is already being formulated, given the ongoing cycle of the football club. Though this is pure speculation, I have no doubt whatsoever that the outgoing Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp, would have had a good conversation with his successor, Arne Slot, in the aftermath of his near definite announcement. Even though the team remains under the stewardship of the famous German, this past weekend’s tremendous 4-2 win over visiting Tottenham does point to a helpful hand towards the future. For twelve months now, the reds vice-captain, Trent Alexander Arnold, has been deployed as a hybrid player who was awarded the license to push into the central midfield position. There is absolute clarity in the enthusiastic approach of the England superstar, who has been keen to become the playmaking middle man, given the lack of an injury prone Thiago Alcântara. What started as an unpredictable endeavour, eventually became a repeated pattern of play, that only occasionally changed the course of a game for the better. Eventually, the Liverpool defence became overworked and outgunned, whereas the effectiveness of Mohamed Salah lessened with the need for the Egyptian to provide width.

How Has the TAA Change Affected the System…?

After a string of poor team showings which ended the reds unlikely Premier League title challenge, a decision was made to revert the homegrown academy graduate back to his former position, as a wide and overlapping fullback against Spurs. Subsequently, the predictable game state altered and both he and his record scoring teammate revelled either side of the superb Harvey Elliott. Occasional instances arose that allowed the 25-year-old Trent to drift inside, however, the game was a brilliant reminder of how destructive the 23-cap England international can be as a touch line crossing wide man. Due to a simple and annoyingly obvious alteration, suddenly the dynamic and fluency of the red’s attacks became more potent and overwhelming. This type of approach very much resembles what was once so successful under Klopp and essentially what could unfold next season. Arne Slot will almost certainly be looking for his right fullback to remain wider, more often, thereby offering the natural width and service in a 4-2-3-1 formation. With a double pivot in effect under the incoming and current Feyenoord boss, there would be coverage for the gifted playmaker to surge further forward, rather than attempt to be the deep lying quarterback that too often restricts the movement of Mohamed Salah. There will of course have to be a balance between the differing roles, as predictable passages of play can avail themselves through any system, which makes the preseason integration of the Dutchman’s ideals very intriguing.

It does appear that many of the support are ready for a change, which probably includes the playing staff as well. Despite the affection and respect that will forever be shown to Jürgen Klopp, the regeneration needs new ideas and a new voice. Though it is only my opinion, I can see a situation where the glorious German will attempt to prepare some assets like Trent for what is to come, in the knowledge that things will have to change. Conventional or not, TAA was once the most explosive attacking fullback in the game and aided the evolution of a largely defensive position. Under Slot and with a little help from the man he will be replacing, I can envisage the next two games being about implementing one or two characteristics of said change, which could allow Liverpool v2.0 to hit the ground running come next season.