Trent Alexander-Arnold is being massively missed by Liverpool, with Alan Shearer sharing exactly why he was so important to their set-up.
The summer transfer window was one full of change for the Anfield outfit, with the club spending over £450 million on new players.
However, this amount of spending wouldn’t have been possible without the sales of players such as Luis Diaz who left Liverpool to join Bayern Munich.
Many thought that all these new players, such as Jeremie Frimpong, would make them harder to beat, but in reality, that’s been far from the case.
And now, Shearer has claimed that Alexander-Arnold’s ability to move into the midfield is one of the main reasons why Liverpool are missing him this term.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ability to push forward is being missed by Arne Slot and Liverpool
While speaking on The Rest is Football Podcast, Shearer gave his thoughts on Liverpool and shared why he thinks Frimpong and Conor Bradley have failed to have the impact their predecessor had.
“It’s quite ironic, isn’t it? That Liverpool looked worse defensively than without Trent Alexander-Arnold because the fact that he moved into midfield and filled the areas,” he said.
“So, urm, it is interesting.”
When on the attack last season, Liverpool’s formation more or less turned into a 3-4-3, which allowed Mohamed Salah to push further forward and even act as a centre-forward at times.
And, now that Liverpool can’t do this because Milos Kerkez isn’t as defensively strong as Andy Robertson, it means that the Reds have one less option going forward, which has massively impacted the way they play.
The arrivals of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike haven’t helped matters much either because, since both of them are natural number nines, neither of them have the defensive work ethic that Darwin Nunez and Diaz put on display last term.
This has resulted in far more pressure being put on Slot’s back four, which has forced players such as Ibrahima Konate to have their worst seasons yet.
Liverpool would take Trent Alexander-Arnold back in a heartbeat
Although the way Alexander-Arnold chose to leave Liverpool was far from ideal, there’s no denying that he was an incredible talent.
The right-back was arguably Liverpool’s most creative outlet and, even though there were times when his defensive contributions frustrated fans, he was an awful lot better than Bradley and Frimpong have been this season.
What he lacked in defence, he more than made up for in attack, with the Englishman contributing to 12 goals across all competitions last season.
Although Frimpong’s return for Bayer Leverkusen was far better last term, due to the number of injuries he’s suffered and his inability to earn a regular place in Slot’s starting XI, his Anfield switch feels like a wasted transfer.
If the option to bring Alexander-Arnold back in January came to light, it’s hard to see why Liverpool wouldn’t take it, especially if their form continues going in this downward spiral.
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