Steven Gerrard has lavished Trent Alexander-Arnold with praise following back-to-back outstanding showings for Gareth Southgate’s England in a midfield role, praising his ability to unlock low-block outfits.
The Liverpool fullback has been featuring in a somewhat more advanced role for the national side compared to the inverted tweak Jurgen Klopp implemented towards the latter half of the 2022/23 campaign.
“When you are playing in games against Malta and playing against another team [North Macedonia] who play with a compact block, Trent [Alexander-Arnold] is someone who can unlock the door at any given moment as he has such a good range of passing,” the former skipper spoke on Channel 4 in quotes carried by the Liverpool Echo.
“I think that he has got big belief and confidence from Jurgen Klopp in this role and it’s very interesting to see that Gareth [Southgate] has followed up and given him an opportunity in there.
“But what Trent has done is he has gone out and backed that up. I thought he was man-of-the-match on Friday night.”
The 24-year-old has scored and assisted in the 4-0 win over Malta and the 7-0 thrashing of North Macedonia respectively, impressing pundits and fans alike.
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Where does Trent’s midfield rejuvenation leave Liverpool?
The value of our No.66 featuring in a midfield role has been debated as far back as the 2021/22 campaign, with Gary Lineker, in particular, a proponent of the proposed switch.
There’s certainly a discussion to be had, even if we should first bear in mind the quality of the opposition England have faced of late, in light of how Trent has excelled in his inverted role alongside Fabinho.
Still, that then leaves us with a rather difficult decision to make regarding transfer plans. Do Liverpool now need to sign another right-back to allow the international to join the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Co. in the midfield on a permanent basis?
Is that even the best use of Trent Alexander-Arnold at a club level?
Do we want to restrict the development of former Aberdeen man Calvin Ramsay?
Joe Gomez has proven more than competent in the role as a comparatively more defensively-minded option, which would then allow Jorg Schmadtke to focus on the plan as is and recruit two further central midfielders plus one centre-half.
Then again… Liverpool have a history of struggling against low-block sides in England, which could be all the reason Klopp needs to play his prize asset in a similarly advanced role.
It’s a conundrum and a half, it has to be said!