Jamie Carragher has rejected the idea Trent Alexander-Arnold should be playing each game as a central midfielder for Liverpool.
Plenty has been said in the last 12 months over just where is the best position for the 25-year-old, having come under the spotlight last season when his flank was regularly targeted by opposition teams.
Searching for a solution to this issue, Jurgen Klopp trialled a new system in April when Arsenal made the trip to Anfield with Alexander-Arnold as an inverted full-back. This hybrid role consisted of the Academy graduate occupying midfield areas when on the attack before moving to right-back when out of possession.
Some supporters were left calling for the West Derby-born defender to be deployed as an out-and-out midfielder following the success of this experiment, a demand Klopp briefly fulfilled during pre-season matches the summer.
It soon became clear at the start of this campaign, though, that Alexander-Arnold would not be acting as one of the three players in a central area on a consistent basis and would instead be interchanging between defence and midfield – as has been the case in recent weeks.
Convinced this remains the correct approach and that Liverpool should not tie themselves down to making a definitive decision, Carragher told the ECHO: “This new role, in terms of going into midfield, has been a revelation for him. I am still not 100 per cent sure we need to do it every single game as it can leave the team exposed.
“In terms of getting Trent on the ball and creating from the centre of midfield, I don’t think there are many better passers of the ball in world football than Trent. I don’t even think there is anyone else out there. You only think of [Kevin] De Bruyne.
“For me, it is about getting Trent on the ball where the space is and being able to get his head up. Sometimes that might be centrally, other times it may be out wide. It is not always about ‘We always put Trent in midfield when we get the ball’. I know that is the idea, and I get that, but if you’re playing in a game where the other team is packing the midfield and the space is on the outside, then there is no point coming in and clogging it even more. Stay at right-back, push on 10 yards and get the ball – as he was doing the first three or four years under Klopp.
“You need to get Trent Alexander-Arnold on the ball, with space, and he will create chances and goals. Whether that’s from sitting midfield, on the right wing or an inside position from right-back.”
One change that has been made permanent for Alexander-Arnold is his promotion to vice-captain of the first-team, a responsibility he has been awarded after establishing himself as a senior squad member. The No.66 has taken on this honour in admirable fashion and could soon end up as the outright skipper of the side he has supported since a young age.
“With Trent, that was the natural step-up for him,” admitted Carragher of the defender’s leadership qualities. “He has been the mainstay of the team and won everything at the club. He is one of the best creative players in Europe and the next step was to take that extra bit of responsibility.
“He is going to handle that perfectly well. He is a lot younger than Virgil [van Dijk] and will captain the club one day. Hopefully he will have the same impact as a captain as Steven Gerrard, the last local lad to lead the team.
