Four Players, Forever
What if Trent Alexander-Arnold joins Real Madrid?
Liverpool have won their last four games in a row, scoring 14 times. They are unbeaten in 23 matches across all competitions, and they are top of the Premier League by six points.
Things are good at Anfield, but since I last posted on this Substack just a few days ago, one story has dominated every conversation on Merseyside, and it hasn’t been a particularly positive one.
Trent Alexander-Arnold. Real Madrid want him, and they want him now. It remains to be seen whether the Scouse defender will depart at some point in the near future, but there are some signs to suggest Arne Slot is already preparing to absorb his loss. I mean, it’s better to be safe than sorry, right?
In November, I shared a Superman-inspired post on Alexander-Arnold’s numbers. You can read that here. There was enough evidence at the time to suggest that Slot was using the Reds number 66 like he was a relatively ordinary full-back, compared to Jürgen Klopp who basically asked him to do everything towards the end of his tenure.
Since that piece, Alexander-Arnold’s offensive numbers have admittedly benefited from a slight boost. But he’s still engaging in more tackles than ever before, and he’s still less involved with Liverpool’s game than ever before, too, averaging fewer touches per 90 than in any of his previous seven seasons.
But beyond the numbers, it’s been interesting to track the development of Slot’s system across the past few months. It seems he’s been a bit less inclined to use Alexander-Arnold’s ability to roam towards the middle of the park, instead sourcing another means of crowding the centre.
If you’ve followed this Substack since day one, you’ll know I’ve always been keen to stress the importance of dominating the centre with at least four players. It’s been a topic on numerous occasions.
Liverpool originally struck that balance under Klopp using a midfield three, and a false nine who retreated towards the centre circle and behaved like a midfielder rather than a striker.
The quartet of Fabinho, Gini Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino established a diamond shape of sorts. Those four lieutenants governed the centre and presented Klopp’s outfit with a platform to dominate matches.
Things changed after Firmino, with replacement Darwin Núñez incapable of doing midfield bits, instead preferring to play more in the mould of Jamie Vardy or Erling Haaland.
It took some time, but Klopp’s eventual solution — courtesy of Pep Lijnders — was to move Alexander-Arnold into the middle whenever the Reds had possession under control.
So rather than Firmino being Liverpool’s fourth man as a striker who explored the nether regions of the pitch, Alexander-Arnold became that player by operating as a right-back who avoided the flanks in favour of the centre.
Under Slot, however, the landscape might be changing once again. Klopp was reliant on Firmino, and then Alexander-Arnold. But with the latter now having just six months left on his Anfield contract, Slot has unearthed a potential contingency plan.
Over the past few months, we’ve witnessed Luis Díaz spend more of his time as a number nine, and given his technical qualities, he’s been more useful than Núñez — and perhaps even Diogo Jota, too — when dropping into deeper areas.
Against the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United, the Colombian forward performed like a do-it-all attacker, and one who showcased false nine perks at times.
Díaz often dropped to the same level of the pitch as Liverpool’s number ten, usually Curtis Jones or Dominik Szoboszlai. And with Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch already playing in midfield, the Reds managed to establish their four without Alexander-Arnold, shown below.
