Liverpool have a big problem right now, and it’s all to do with star man Trent Alexander-Arnold, and his position within Jurgen Klopp’s team for the remainder of the season.
Trent injured his knee during Liverpool’s 2-0 win in the FA Cup over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on January 6, returning to action three weeks later in the fourth round of the competition against Norwich.
Alexander-Arnold’s injury led to Conor Bradley getting a run in the team, and the Northern Irish defender has done incredibly well in that spot. The right back has popped up with four assists in five games, proving himself to be a fantastic deputy to Trent, both in an attacking and defensive sense.
But could he be more than that?
Bradley’s performances since being in the team have been so good that some Liverpool fans have been calling for Klopp to play him instead of Trent at right-back against Arsenal on February 4, which will arguably be one of the Reds’ biggest games of the season. The situation poses an issue, albeit a pretty good one, for Liverpool’s manager to sort.
What is Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold problem?
Liverpool started the season with Trent as a right-back who’d invert into midfield, with Andy Robertson on the other flank holding the width and staying high, but that system changed when both star full-backs were out the team due to injury.
With Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas both out, Joe Gomez played at left-back, and as a right-footer, he took on Trent’s responsibilities of inverting into midfield, while right-back Bradley remained high and wide on the right. In essence, the system flipped around.
It proved to be successful for Liverpool. Despite missing two of their best players, the Reds won all of their seven games in January, scoring 22 goals and conceding just seven.
§The old adage of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ is one that will be ringing on Klopp’s head right now, as despite Gomez and Bradley arguably being in top form right now, you’d suspect both men will be dropped now that Robertson and Trent are back, but is that what should happen?
Bradley scored his first-ever Liverpool goal against Chelsea this week, also providing two assists in the game. It’s strange for a player who played that well to be dropped, but when you’ve got Trent available, he’s simply too good to leave out.
The same can be said for Gomez and Robertson. The Scottish international is back and available to play against Arsenal, but if Bradley starts, then it makes more sense to have the former Charlton man inverting from the other side, rather than Robbo also playing high and wide.
So what should Klopp do?
Could Trent Alexander-Arnold play in midfield?
The emergence of Bradley could prove to be the catalyst for a major change in Alexander-Arnold’s career, which could see him permanently shifted into a midfielder.
If Klopp opts to have Bradley and Gomez stay as his full-back pairing for the game against Arsenal, but is there a chance that he has Alexander-Arnold play in midfield instead, either as a six or as an eight?
Trent has played in midfield this season, so it’s not totally out of the system, but is a game against title challengers Arsenal really the time to be experimenting with something like that? Arguably not.
You’ve also got to consider who Trent would be coming in for. Alexis Mac Allister was fantastic as a defensive midfielder against Chelsea, breaking up play by making nine tackles and also starting attacks with his elite passing. You’ve got Curtis Jones ahead of him, who is having his best season as a Liverpool player and is at the heart of everything going well with Klopp’s side right now.
Also returning from injury is Dominik Szoboszlai, who came back to Premier League action against Chelsea, scoring a beautiful header to make the game 3-0. If Trent comes into midfield, the Hungarian could drop out, but he does so much good with his pressing for Liverpool that he’d be a big miss too.
What should Jurgen Klopp do?
At the end of the day, quality should prevail here. As good as Bradley has been, and he’s been exceptional, there’s no denying that Trent Alexander-Arnold is the better player.
If you want to stick with having the right-back play high and wide and the left-back inverting, you could always have Trent do Bradley’s role, which he did during the beginning portion of his Liverpool career, and he’d probably still be incredibly good at.
This is a good issue for Klopp to have. He’s got real depth across every area of the pitch, but that means difficult decisions have to be made, and players with real quality are going to have to miss out.
Taking all that into consideration, Ladbrokes presents the starting XI that Jurgen Klopp should line up with for his Liverpool side against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
- GK – Alisson
- RB – Trent Alexander-Arnold
- CB – Ibrahima Konate
- CB – Virgil van Dijk
- LB – Joe Gomez
- CDM – Alexis Mac Allister
- CM – Dominik Szoboszlai
- CM – Curtis Jones
- RW – Diogo Jota
- ST – Darwin Nunez
- LW – Luis Diaz
The system would switch between having the right and left back high and wide, with the other full back inverting, which both Trent and Gomez have shown an ability and willingness to do.
It’s harsh on Bradley, there’s no denying that, but given the magnitude of the game, it isn’t the time for Klopp to take risks. He needs to go with his best players for this one, and as good as the 20-year-old is, Trent does possess more quality.
Bradley will get his chances this year, whether that’s in the FA Cup and Europa League, or even in Premier League games from time-to-time, but for the game against Arsenal, it’s Alexander-Arnold who should take the starting spot.
Betting Odds for Arsenal v Liverpool
Arsenal, who are the home team for Sunday’s fixture, have been priced with odds of 13/10 to beat Liverpool. Klopp’s side have odds of 19/10 to beat Arsenal, who are going into the game off the back of back-to-back wins in the league.
A draw is seen, at least by the bookies, as the most likely outcome, with Ladbrokes giving odds of 5/2 for the score to be tied come the full-time whistle, just as they were in December.
Speaking of that game towards the end of 2023, if that’s anything to go by, Sunday’s fixture between two of the best sides, not only in England but in the entire world, could end up being a real treat.
All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.
