Trent Alexander-Arnold has revealed the moment when Jurgen Klopp told him and the Liverpool squad they would be changing formation with the England international utilised as an inverted full-back.
The 24-year-old has thrived for the Reds in recent weeks since moving central and being unleashed in midfield, away from his traditional right-back berth, when Liverpool are on the ball.
Klopp’s men are currently on an eight-game unbeaten run and have won their last six as they make a late surge for an unlikely top four finish. And the Reds have used their new system for their last seven matches, with Alexander-Arnold registering six assists during such a run.
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He would set up Roberto Firmino’s last-minute equaliser at home to Arsenal as Liverpool recovered from 2-0 down to earn a share of the spoils the first time the Reds made use of Alexander-Arnold as an inverted full-back. And he’s shared his initial reaction to the switch, with Klopp only informing his squad of the tactical switch the day before they faced the Gunners.
“It (the first conversation) didn’t need to be that long because I think the staff knew I would understand the role and what I need to bring to it,” Alexander-Arnold revealed. “It was kind of just telling me where I needed to be and within that, me having the quality and the intelligence to be able to work with it.
“It was literally the day before the Arsenal game, to be honest, just sprung on us, ‘This is what we are going to do when we have the ball, build with two sixes and a back three and kind of mirror Arsenal’s shape and give them that problem.’
“You saw [in the] first half it was difficult because it was brand new and we hadn’t worked on it, to be honest, but then second half we took control of the game and I think in a system and a formation like that having control of the game is vital. Once we were able to do that, and have been able to do it since, we’ve been able to show all of our qualities.
“(I was) Excited, to be honest. I love a challenge, I love trying and learning new things and I think that’s something that I’ve really enjoyed this last month or so since being given that new role in the team: asking questions, learning, wanting to understand what to bring to it, how I can learn, how I can get better, how I can help the team, and just understanding a different role.
“Playing in a different way, learning the different rules that a midfielder or someone in the middle of the pitch has to bring compared to someone out wide – dragging players away, creating space for others, being an option, angles, checking shoulders, there’s so much more to it. That was all new at the start but it’s kind of just felt natural if I’m honest, and I think that’s something that is evident – that it just looks and feels natural.”
Of course, it’s not just Alexander-Arnold who has needed to adapt to his new role, with Ibrahima Konate, for example, required to cover for the defender on the right when Liverpool have the ball. And the 24-year-old admits his team-mates have had to make sacrifices to ensure the Reds get the best of him in his new role.
“I think it’s one of those things, we all appreciate each other, we all appreciate our qualities,” he said. “I think the system suits profiles: Ibou is an athletic centre-back who can move, he can run, he is strong, fast, he can cover big spaces and defends outstandingly well in those big spaces, so I think maybe that gap I’m leaving when I am coming into the middle of the pitch is filled by a player who can handle that and do that.
“We’ve got other profiles of centre-halves who can do that as well, you see big Joel who stepped in at West Ham away, and he did that outstandingly well as well. I think there are a lot of different things, Robbo is sacrificing himself as well, playing as more of a left-sided centre-half, and Mo has to come deeper a little bit to get the ball and be an option for Ibou because there is no right-back there now.
“So there’s a lot of moving parts to it and I think we all appreciate what we bring to those roles and we all try to play to those strengths as much as possible.”
Ever since the England international burst onto the scene at Anfield, there has been an ongoing debate regarding his long-term position with many insisting that he should be transformed into a midfielder. But for now, Alexander-Arnold is just enjoying the added responsibility and freedom as Liverpool look to get him on the ball more.
“To be honest, I don’t know what you’d call it (the role). People have different terms and different interpretations of it,” he told the club website. “I think I just play it the way the manager tells me to and the way I feel it needs to be played.
“But yeah, it’s getting on the ball more centrally, being able to impact the game in a central area and just having that freedom within there to express myself and help the team win games. I think it’s been a big effort from a lot of the lads who have been asked to do different things, it’s not just me, and I think everyone’s adapted to it really well.
“I love having the ball! It’s something I’ll never shy away from as well. I think that’s a quality I’ve always possessed: when things are going well and when things are going bad, I always want to get on the ball and I‘m not scared to make mistakes.
“I think I’m lucky to have that ability and that mentality around that but I think getting on the ball, just being influential, lending the ball, getting it back, making the team tick, helping create attacks and build out from the back is something that I love to do.
“Having that responsibility and feeling that responsibility is something that I thrive off and I love feeling that. Knowing that the team needs me and I need the team to work hand in hand is something that I love.
“It's trying to just control the game, play the game and dictate the tempo and the speed of what we do. I think there’s so much detail in the small things, the fine details, that people don’t really see but it’s just dictating the pace of the game depending on who you pass to, the speed at which you pass – that all gives messages as to what to do.
“You play a slow ball and it’s, ‘Keep the ball’, whereas if you rap it into someone on the back foot it’s, ‘Turn, we’re good, go forward.’ I think it’s just those little messages that someone in the middle of the pitch has to know and understand and learn and, as I said, I’m loving learning what to do and how to do it and how to dictate a game.
“On the surface of it, it is football and it’s playing a slightly different role and that, but really there is a lot more that goes into it. But it’s something that I think stimulates me and helps me because, like I said, I love a challenge, I love having to think on the pitch, I love having to really think about what I’m doing, where I’m moving, who and what is round me at all times, and just needing that awareness and not being able to switch off is something that I think I thrive off.
“Like I said, that new responsibility that I feel within the team is something that helps me perform.”
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