Trent Alexander-Arnold: The pass master who poses Liverpool a tactical problem

Trent Alexander-Arnold is Liverpool’s renaissance man, and in more ways than one.

He is the club’s vice-captain. He is the Scouser whose graduation from academy whizkid to senior stalwart has inspired those trying to tread the same path. And, more recently, he has embraced the role of chief playmaker in Jurgen Klopp’s “Liverpool 2.0”.

Yet Alexander-Arnold is also on something of a personal redemption mission. Rewind to the first few months of last season and his form was being questioned like never before as Liverpool struggled collectively.

The catalyst for his revival was the now well-documented late-season evolution to a 3-box-3 system in possession, a tactical switch which has been a defining moment in the 25-year-old’s career. Specifically, it has allowed him to showcase his world-class passing range from a deep, central position, something that was evident from the system’s first deployment in April’s home game against Arsenal.

In possession, Alexander-Arnold is a midfielder. Out of possession, he is a defender. In theory, it means Liverpool can benefit from his technical brilliance and vision more regularly.

“The skill set he has for being influential in possession, for a right-back, is mad. I don’t know if we ever saw a right-back like this,” Klopp said last season. “Passing here, passing there, switching sides, free kicks, corners, smart decisions, quick decisions, all these things. He’s an outstanding football player.”

Alexander-Arnold’s assurance and comfort in his new role is one of the reasons Liverpool have been beaten just once in the 22 Premier League games since the new formation was deployed — the controversial 2-1 away loss against Tottenham in September that they ended with nine men. Of those games, Alexander-Arnold has started 19.

It means we have a healthy sample of games to work from going back to that Sunday against Arsenal at Anfield, so it is worth digging into exactly how Alexander-Arnold’s new role has influenced Liverpool’s wider tactical set-up in possession.

GO DEEPER

Alexander-Arnold exclusive: 'This position opens up the whole pitch for me. It's exciting'

Before we do that, though, it’s worth seeing what the man himself told The Athletic when asked about his new duties in May.

“Before taking this on, I was only ever really able to break lines on the right side of the pitch,” Alexander-Arnold said. “I was never able to do it on the left. And if I was to play a good pass it would be a big switch, and they can only be so effective. This position just opens up the whole pitch for me. I’m able to dictate the flow of the game — where we attack, how we attack and at what pace.”

Curiously, Alexander-Arnold’s open-play passes per 90 minutes figure this season is his lowest average for that metric since 2018-19 at 65.5, but the locations on the pitch he is passing from are unquestionably different to previous years.

Looking at his pass sonar below — which visualises the direction and distance of a player’s passes — it is clear that balls from right to left remain a key part of Alexander-Arnold’s passing profile, but one in particular has opened up in his weaponry…

From an inside position, Alexander-Arnold is more able to play searching, lofted passes into the channel for Mohamed Salah to run onto, with examples shown from this season’s matches against Aston Villa…

…Everton…

…and Chelsea.

Unsurprisingly, his football IQ perfectly matches his elite execution.

“I know I can play it in behind, but how can I make it easier for him (Salah)?” Alexander-Arnold told the We Are Liverpool podcast. “How can I make sure it’s properly in his stride? How can I make sure the spin on the ball is not going to affect his first touch and he can keep his momentum when running at pace? All these things start going in your head.”

So far, so good. The landscape is set, and we’re all agreed on Alexander-Arnold’s undoubted technical ability — particularly those medium-to-long range passes that set him apart.

However, there is a key question to ponder. Could Klopp’s tactical tweak to have Alexander-Arnold involved in the earlier part of Liverpool’s possession sequences actually dampen their attacks down on certain occasions this season?

Allow us to explain…

From the moment Alexander-Arnold established himself as a first-team player in the second half of the 2017-18 season, his passing range has wowed supporters. The skill, the pace, the accuracy, the audacity — he has a passing repertoire few others possess.

“Trent has great vision in the game, he’s always looking for the hardest pass in the game and he’s just trying to play it,” said Salah. “Immediately, once I know he gets the ball and there’s space, I run. Even without seeing if he’s going to pass or not, but he knows my game very well by now. He can (make the difficult passes) because his vision is unbelievable.”

Take his crossfield ball to fellow full-back Andy Robertson in the move that saw Salah score Liverpool’s second in the 3-1 home win against Manchester City four years ago this month.

Or the same combination being part of another goal against City, with Alexander-Arnold’s perfectly weighted cross allowing Robertson to assist Roberto Firmino earlier in 2019.

He can produce any type of pass at any moment.

There are too many brilliant cross-field passes to Robertson, Sadio Mane, Luis Diaz and more to individually talk about, but Alexander-Arnold’s game has altered. From the start of last season, he averaged 0.5 switch passes to Robertson per 90 (ie, one every two games) before his role change in April. Since then, he is only averaging 0.24 per 90 (one every four games).

The demands may have increased but the mindset hasn’t. The aim is to play with freedom, create and progress his team up the pitch — but now he can pass both left and right.

Unquestionably, the starting locations of those passes are key to Alexander-Arnold’s tactical tweak. With that in mind, let’s compare his most common pass types before and after April’s role change.

Rather than looking at the boring five-yard passes that are likely to clog up the dataset, let’s focus on those fun ‘medium-to-long range’ passes that we’ll define as ones travelling 20-plus yards. Using a cluster analysis, we can group similar pass types together, based on their start and end points on the pitch.

Looking at the graphic below, Alexander-Arnold’s three most common pass types before his role change included those teasing balls into the penalty area — whether that was from the right half-space or high up on Liverpool’s right.

They happen to be the areas where most of his assists are generated from.

For example, of his most common pass type, we can draw on memories of his assist for Mane against Tottenham in January 2021…

…or his one for Diogo Jota against Arsenal in the second leg of the following season’s Carabao Cup semi-final…

…or even the assist to Darwin Nunez against Wolves in the FA Cup against Wolves in January this year.

His whipped crosses from the right-hand edge of the box can vary from inswingers, like his left-footed delivery for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goal against Brentford in January…

…to outswingers, such as his measured cross for Jota against Atletico Madrid in the 2021-22 Champions League group stage.

However, this is where the comparison begins.

Contrast the above with his passes since the role change in April and you can see his most common 20-yard-plus passes have come from a deeper, less threatening position.

His playmaking skills are still abundant, but they are less frequently seen at the top end of the pitch. What was previously his most common searching pass forward — landing the ball in the opponents’ penalty area from the right half-space — is now only his sixth most common type.

Therefore, the question is simple — where within your attacking sequence chain do you want to place your most threatening passer?

As shown above, Alexander-Arnold can play perfectly-weighted balls in behind against higher defensive lines, for the likes of Salah, Nunez and Diaz to run onto. However, things get a little trickier when he is up against a deeper-lying defence — as Luton showed two weeks ago, with their deep block frustrating Liverpool for long periods.

Tactically, the solution here is often to go around the block with crosses from wide areas — something Liverpool have been doing far less of this season, particularly in contrast to their 2019-20 title-winning year.

Of course, this is due to the system change, with Alexander-Arnold’s narrower position meaning left-back Robertson — or currently, with the Scot out injured, Kostas Tsimikas — has to provide more defensive discipline in exchange for his typical marauding runs forward.

“Yeah (Trent’s new role) has changed things for Robbo,” Klopp explained. “We cannot have one full-back in the centre of the field and the other one constantly high up on the left side. Robbo has to judge the situations where he can be involved, where he can overlap.”

Liverpool attempted 29 open-play crosses that day against Luton — comfortably their most of the Premier League season, with 12 against Everton being their next-highest total — in an attempt to break down their low block. But although he is their most dangerous crosser, only six of those were delivered by Alexander-Arnold.

It is a consequence of the role change, but Alexander-Arnold’s 0.19 open-play expected assists per 90 is his lowest rate since 2018-19.

We would previously be accustomed to seeing those dangerous crosses played from advanced wide areas. This season, as the next chart shows, such balls have all but vanished.

The deliveries from the right edge of the opposition box remain, such as his assist for Curtis Jones against Tottenham…

…and more recently for Wataru Endo’s goal against Toulouse…

… but they are now less frequent. We are more likely to see pre-assists from him, like against Brentford — punchy passes from deep to break the opposition’s defensive lines.

From a chances-created perspective, locations such as this…

…are wholly different to execute from compared with this location.

It is worth noting that Liverpool’s creativity from midfield has been significantly boosted this season — particularly on that right flank, where new signing Dominik Szoboszlai has developed a strong relationship with Salah and Alexander-Arnold.

Maybe that creative burden has simply been spread around the team more equitably, but Salah’s lower volume of both touches and shots per 90 have been exchanged for greater creative responsibility at the top end of the field — most notably as he is the one to maintain the width vacated by Alexander-Arnold’s narrower role.

As Salah is a left-footer who wants to come inside and be closer to the goal, that might clog things up further on the days when Liverpool need to stretch the pitch against deeper-block teams.

So, while Alexander-Arnold’s passing range has been on show more than ever this season, an interesting tactical quandary remains: would you rather have your most creative passer on the ball earlier in the attacking sequence, or get him to play the final ball with a precision few players in European football possess?

Alexander-Arnold has only three assists this season, with his only one in the Premier League coming from a corner. It is ironic that the two from open play have been that whipped cross from the right edge of the box for Endo against Toulouse, and a cross-field pass to Nunez against Bournemouth.

There is little doubt Klopp and his coaching staff have adapted their structure to unlock Alexander-Arnold’s world-class passing range in deeper areas.

However, such a change does not come without complications elsewhere.

His new-look Liverpool may be formidable, but Klopp still has some questions to ponder as he plots his pursuit of silverware.

GO DEEPER

My game in my words. By Trent Alexander-Arnold

(Top photo: Ibrahim Ezzat/NurPhoto via Getty Images)