{"id":26298,"date":"2021-02-17T16:16:02","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T21:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=26298"},"modified":"2021-02-17T16:16:02","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T21:16:02","slug":"trent-alexander-arnold-facing-biggest-test-of-his-career-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2021\/02\/17\/trent-alexander-arnold-facing-biggest-test-of-his-career-so-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Trent Alexander-Arnold facing biggest test of his career so far"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alexander Puri<\/em><\/p>\n

Trent Alexander-Arnold has accomplished quite a lot for his age. At just 22, he\u2019s won the Champions League a year after appearing in the final, the UEFA Super Cup, the Club World Cup and the Premier League title, along with a host of individual awards. <\/span><\/p>\n

Along the way, he\u2019s formed arguably the strongest fullback paring in the sport with Liverpool left back Andy Robertson, broke the record for most assists in a single season for a defender and scored a few screamers himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alexander-Arnold\u2019s rise has understandably occurred very much in sync with Liverpool\u2019s over the past few seasons. And it\u2019s no coincidence that as the level of his performances have dropped this season, Liverpool\u2019s have as well. Such is the extent of his value to this side that their production up top has declined significantly in the wake of the 22-year old\u2019s struggles. <\/span><\/p>\n

Liverpool\u2019s threat going forward over the past few seasons has in no small part been a product of Alexander-Arnold and Robertson\u2019s surges up the pitch and exceptional service from out wide. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not only have the two contributed an abnormal number of goals for defenders, but their mere presence in the last third frees up space for Liverpool\u2019s front three to wreak havoc on opposition backlines. Roberto Firmino commands plenty of praise for performing a similar function in a more central role, but Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane owe plenty to Liverpool\u2019s fullback pairing as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Liverpool\u2019s defensive record over the past two seasons only further underlines the magnitude of their importance to this side. Their work rate exemplifies Klopp\u2019s demands and vision for his side perhaps more than anything else on the pitch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Reds have been touted as a \u201cwell-oiled machine,\u201d for their relentless pressing and consistently high tempo. We haven\u2019t seen much of that this season, but the absence of those qualities also justifies this characterization. Because when you remove a cog in the machine, it inhibits the other gadgets. And that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s been the story of Liverpool\u2019s season: remove the output from their fullbacks and the rest falls apart.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a result of Liverpool\u2019s bizarre amount of injuries to their center backs, the likes of Henderson and Fabinho have had to drop back. This has ramifications all over the pitch. The two midfielders obviously can\u2019t offer nearly the same level of solidity as the typical pairing of Van Djik and Matip or Gomez, and Liverpool\u2019s fullbacks therefore have to drop back more frequently to provide greater cover. That then dilutes Liverpool\u2019s threat going forward as opposition defenders can allocate more attention to Liverpool\u2019s front three, who themselves have fewer sources of service.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While many of Liverpool\u2019s players have struggled as a result, Alexander-Arnold has perhaps felt the effects of Van Djik\u2019s absence more than anyone in this side. The fullback\u2019s form in particular has taken a massive dip over the past few weeks and his lack of freedom to reinforce Salah down the right flank is certainly a factor in his recent difficulties. <\/span><\/p>\n

As trying a moment as this is for Jurgen Klopp and his side, the Englishman now faces the first serious test of what has proven an exceptional career for a player of his age.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the inconvenience of his side\u2019s emergency set-up, it\u2019s not entirely to blame for his recent dip. He has recently struggled to find Liverpool players in the box with his crosses and he has also faced criticism for his ball retention, particularly after losing possession 38 times in the defeat at Southampton last month. It\u2019s important to put the former issue in the context of the extraordinary high standard he\u2019s set over the past three seasons, but the drop off in his delivery remains a concern nonetheless.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His run of form at the moment is undoubtedly an unfamiliar experience in his professional career. However, the reality is that no matter the quality of a player, anyone is susceptible to these periods of their career. Alexander-Arnold\u2019s poor spell won\u2019t last forever, but if he\u2019s to reach the high level that the early years of his career strongly indicate he can then he must learn how to ride through and play himself out of these moments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Klopp has described his men as \u201cmentality monsters,\u201d due to their collectivism, fearlessness and sheer will to win match after match, week after week. Amid a difficult run of form, Alexander-Arnold must now exercise that same mental fortitude on an individual level.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Featured Image: Michael Regan \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alexander Puri Trent Alexander-Arnold has accomplished quite a lot for his age. At just 22, he\u2019s won the Champions League a year after appearing in the final, the UEFA Super Cup, the Club World Cup and the Premier League title, along with a host of individual awards. Along the way, he\u2019s formed arguably the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17459,"featured_media":26299,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1024,1032,1035,19],"tags":[1169,1776,1654,1775],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26298"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17459"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26298"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26301,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26298\/revisions\/26301"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}