Exploring With Luis Díaz and Virgil van Dijk
Arne Slot could experiment with two players to solve Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold puzzle.
Alright, hear me out. With transfer season yet to catch fire and pre-season just about to commence, I’ve been thinking about ideas that Arne Slot could explore this summer before his Premier League debut in August.
We’re all inclined to look outside in search of potential solutions, but that often results in us overlooking what we’ve already got. Sometimes, the answer is internal.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is arguably the biggest talking point ahead of the new era. How will Slot use him, and where do we expect him to play? Well, I’ve been weighing up ways of maximising what he’s good at while also masking his flaws of late, and I feel like I’ve got a simple but effective idea to test.
So we all know what Alexander-Arnold can do with the ball at his feet. I’m not going to bore you by talking about his incredible powers yet again. He’s just one of the most dangerous passers on the planet. No elaboration needed.
The Reds vice-captain has showcased his possession strengths as a right-back for most of his career, but over time, we’ve all gotten pretty sick of how often Liverpool get attacked down his side.
He always gets targeted by the opposition. Pep Guardiola in particular is known for overthinking his tactics in big games, but not when he faces Liverpool, no. Every single time, he just aims for Alexander-Arnold, and there’s a reason for that.
Now, this isn’t just about our number 66 being a terrible defender. Mohamed Salah doesn’t track back to help him that much, and Virgil van Dijk — who is the world’s best defender — plays on the left of Liverpool’s defence.
So by targeting Alexander-Arnold, you’re avoiding the best centre-back who has ever played the sport, and you’re also gaining yards because of Salah’s tendency to remain high, even when the Reds are defending.
If I was playing against Liverpool, I’d be doing the same. Aim for the right, because the weak spot is right there.
Originally, Jürgen Klopp tried to protect that weakness by using Jordan Henderson and Ibrahima Konaté. The former was basically RoboCop in midfield — following orders and running himself into the ground — and the latter is very difficult to beat in one-on-one duels because of his physical edge in every department.
Things aren’t the same nowadays. Arne Slot won’t be able to protect Alexander-Arnold like Klopp did, because Henderson is retired — he just hasn’t realised it yet — and Konaté picks up too many injuries to be regarded as a credible babysitter.
I think Alexander-Arnold will continue to play as a right-back next term and beyond, but getting the most from him while ensuring the team doesn’t suffer too much isn’t going to be easy for Slot.
If you don’t establish a solid foundation for the Scouse talisman to invent, his desire to play the killer pass will hurt you. Your structure has to be good with and without the ball, otherwise the opposition will exploit the cracks that emerge.
I mentioned my potential solution earlier this week on Episode #018 of my podcast. It involves using the players you’ve already got, but moving them around a little bit as a means of spicing up the recipe and getting different outcomes.
Luis Díaz is the first player to find a new home. Rather than playing on the left and cutting inside into traffic every five minutes, I’d like to challenge him on the right.
He’s a right footer, so he’d offer width out there. He wouldn’t get lost by driving inside and attempting to manipulate the perfect shot, either, and perhaps most importantly of all, he would offer more protection for Alexander-Arnold.
Salah plays somewhere in the middle in this scenario, with Cody Gakpo likely benefiting from some time in his preferred spot on the left. He exploded for PSV Eindhoven over there, but since he’s arrived on Merseyside, he’s been deployed elsewhere.
After Díaz, Van Dijk needs to pack his bags. He’s not going far, though. I want our captain to see how he feels as a centre-back on the right as opposed to the left.
He’s a bit curious in that sense. The Dutchman is a right footer, but one who has always played on the left of a two-man pairing. It has always worked, but if Alexander-Arnold is always getting battered on the right, why on earth wouldn’t you put the world’s best shield on that side of the pitch?
Van Dijk should be able to cope given his preferred foot. Liverpool would probably need to sign a left-footed centre-back for this to work, but it would still be an interesting experiment to conduct in pre-season.
I recorded a video with The Redmen TV earlier this week, and we talked about the notion of moving Van Dijk and Díaz to accommodate Alexander-Arnold during our chat.
You can watch a little snippet below.
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