[Paul Joyce]
How Trent Alexander-Arnold is fighting back in bid to turn form around
The right back, whose performances this season have been under the microscope, has got his head down as he looks to get back to the level fans know he is capable of
The easiest thing for Trent Alexander-Arnold to do would have been to disappear and forget about everything.
Liverpoolās limp Champions League exit against Real Madrid two weeks ago was still raw when a brief telephone call from Gareth Southgate compounded the defenderās woes, confirming that he would be excluded from his England squad. A difficult season, one which has been problematic for everyone at Anfield, not just its homegrown star, had reached a new low.
Yet it is what happened next which should buoy Liverpool supporters. And not simply that Alexander-Arnold spent the Sunday night after the Real game in the company of Jude Bellingham as they hung out together and attended a Chris Brown concert in London.
Instead of taking up the offer of a week off now that Englandās fixtures with Italy and Ukraine were not on the agenda, Alexander-Arnold reported to Liverpoolās AXA training ground and got his head down. The focus was on fitness, strength and conditioning as he trained under the watchful eye of the first-team coach Dr Conall Murtagh.
It was not the action of someone who doesnāt care or whose enthusiasm has waned after winning everything he can at club level. Rather, someone who knows there have been times when he has not been on top of his game and is determined to perform with the verve which prompted the Liverpool manager JĆ¼rgen Klopp to laud him as the best right back in the world.
Alexander-Arnold has, more recently, had to grow accustomed to criticism over his defensive aptitude, with the first real bump in his career path coinciding with the collective dip which leaves Liverpool struggling to qualify for the Champions League.
He knows there will be times he is left one-on-one and that he must improve in that area by displaying the intensity and positive body language that will enable him to be more consistent. To that end, the 24-year-old has worked on his defending, though the schedule of three games a week often restricts the amount of time he, and team-mates-turned-opponents, can stay on the training pitch after a normal session. That will be less of an issue now, of course.
Confidence has been affected which is why having a break would have been advocated by some, especially given the punishing mental and physical schedule he has faced since becoming a first-team regular in 2017-18 and being a standard-bearer.
In 2022-23 only Alisson and Mohamed Salah have played more minutes for Liverpool in all competitions, while last season he had the third-highest number of minutes (4,235), playing 74 per cent of all minutes possible. Only Alisson and Virgil van Dijk featured more.
Where his playing time resonates is when compared to those players, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Reece James, whom he has fallen behind in the pecking order with England. Over the past four seasons, James has played the equivalent of 52 fewer club matches than Alexander-Arnold, Walker 41 and Trippier 49.
Still, Alexander-Arnold felt he had a break after the World Cup in Qatar. He had enjoyed the tournament, spending time with clubmate Jordan Henderson, Bellingham and the Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who is one of his closest friends in football with the duo having been room-mates in Englandās junior ranks. The 33 minutes he was afforded against Wales in the group stage kept him feeling involved notwithstanding he wanted to play more often.
At first glance, it appears an injury to others is now required for him to return to the squad though.
Klopp is on record as stating Liverpoolās malaise has affected too many members of his squad and Van Dijk, Henderson and Fabinho are among those who will feel scrutiny has fallen on them, too, on occasions. But, as a result of the standards set in previous seasons, there has been a forensic dissection of Alexander-Arnoldās displays.
The headline numbers which had framed his heady rise are not there this term. There have been two assists so far in the Premier League compared to 12 last season, but that stops short of painting the true picture.
His big-chance creation is actually higher than in any campaign since 2018-19, which highlights how one of the main issues for Klopp has been the profligacy of the forwards who have spurned the opportunity to make games more straightforward.
Liverpool have ended up having to do more defending and attention has, therefore, been paid to the other aspects of Alexander-Arnoldās game.
The defeat at the Bernabeu would show his good, bad and indifferent sides. Watching the 90 minutes back, the statistic proclaiming he was dribbled past six times is misleading. He was beaten by Vinicius Jr by the touchline in the first half, but the winger then turned back towards his own goal before giving away a foul on Salah.
Luka Modric would later lift a ball over Alexander-Arnoldās head and cross for Federico Valverde as Liverpool survived a scare in the second half. However, sometimes an opponent would run in-field past the full back and straight into Ibrahima KonatĆ© or another team-mate.
The idea Alexander-Arnold cannot defend has taken hold, but that, too, is wrong. In the 56th minute, with the second leg goalless, he was alert and produced an excellent covering tackle to block Karim Benzemaās effort, while in the recent game against Manchester United there was a recovery run with Liverpool four goals into their 7-0 success to thwart Marcus Rashford, who has proved his nemesis in the past.
It is just that, at times, Alexander-Arnold can switch off as was seen with Benzemaās 78th-minute winning goal. Yet, as an outfield unit, Liverpool had disconnected at that point with hopes of a stunning comeback given their 5-2 first-leg deficit having long since vanished.
There is no pressure as the move begins with a throw-in on Realās left and the Spaniards proceed to make 17 passes, with Alexander-Arnold, at one point, finding Toni Kroos, Benzema and Vinicius Jr around him.
That should not happen under Klopp. He does not want the full backs to be left one-on-one, never mind one on three, as the assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders explained to The Times last season. Lijnders had been asked whether Alexander-Arnold was expected to do too much for the team, stepping into a creative No 8 role one moment but defending in the next.
āWe defend with the whole team ā everyone is responsible for defending,ā Lijnders said. āIf a defender only gets judged on one-versus-one situations in big spaces, the football world is just looking back in time instead of into the future.ā
However, despite Liverpoolās struggles, there has been no significant move to ease his attacking workload and concentrate solely on defending, for example.
There will be moments over the coming 11 days ā Manchester City (away), Chelsea (away), Arsenal (home) ā when Liverpool and Alexander-Arnold will have to suffer once again. Coming out the other side better will provide evidence of progress for both.
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