Premier League: Is Trent the answer to Liverpool's midfield worries?

IT’S hard to recall a side that have exhibited such Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde characteristics as Liverpool this season. 9-0 against Bournemouth, 7-0 against Man United, 6-1 against Leeds last Monday, would all indicate a magnificent season to any casual observer. But then you realise Liverpool lost to these three sides in the reverse fixture and you are left scratching your head to where Liverpool really are.

No one would be surprised to see the Merseyside outfit lose to relegation worried Nottingham Forest today despite putting in one of their most accomplished performances just five days earlier against Leeds.

The side that came within a kick of a ball from winning the quadruple last season are only recognisable in flashes this time out. Why?

The reasons are myriad. Exhaustion from the trails of 2021-2022, injuries, an ageing midfield, injuries, lack of transfer activity, injuries, a daft mid-season World Cup, and always bloody injuries all combined to quickly take a whack out of Liverpool aspirations this season.

But probably the key frustration for Liverpool fans are the club’s tales of woe in midfield. The fulcrum of its attack and its pressing defence, no longer has the dynamism it once had and as a result puts pressure on its defenders, geared for counterattack, and strangles the supply to an attack dependent on turnovers in the centre. Henderson, Milner, Fabinho and Thiago all have been brilliant servants of the club, but are showing every mile on the clock in their tired performance this season, while Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Harvey Elliot, Curtis Jones, Arthur Melo, and Stefan Bajcetic have all carried injuries and/or are still working their way into the squad.

Frustration

Adding to the bipolar mood in the club, has been the on again, off again, big budget promise to buy Jude Bellingham from Dortmund, that has teased fans with a quick-fix acquisition to solve the midfield dilemmas. But it has remained frustratingly beyond realisation.

In the absence of an external solution the natural thing to do is to look within the club for a solution and many have opined that maybe moving one of the best passers of a ball in the world into midfield could do the job in lieu of an alternative might be the obvious choice.

No one denies Trent Alexander-Arnold attacking credentials for Liverpool and his assists from right fullback has been revelatory, matched maybe only by his team-mate at the opposite fullback position. However, the other half of a fullback’s job is defensive and Alexander-Arnold has of late not excelled in that role. It’s hard to blame him for these frailties when you are expected to be 80 yards away from the area you’re supposed to be defending. It mattered little that he was out of place when Liverpool were at full flight dominating possession and attack. But it’s a different story when the side loses possession in midfield and your fullbacks are in the opposite box.

For a while now, Liverpool fans have wondered whether moving Alexander-Arnold into a more forward holding midfield role might open up opposition defences with his trademark precise passes.

While Liverpool struggle to fill the gaps in midfield the choice of fullbacks and centre backs, who can fill the role, are relatively plentiful. So it seemed obvious to many that shifting Alexander-Arnold into the middle was worth the experiment.

Yet Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp seems stubborn when it comes to changing his heavy-metal diamond and he has for whatever reason not seen or ignored the prospect of the alternatives.

So, Alexander-Arnold remained tightly shackled to his duties on the right flank for the season, but something changed in the philosophy in the last two weeks. Against Arsenal and Leeds United, Alexander-Arnold has drifted into midfield alongside Fabinho to form a makeshift holding two, protecting Liverpool’s possession. Allowing other the freedom to concentrate on returning to Liverpool’s pressing game which proved very effective against Arsenal in the second half and against Leeds throughout the game.

Inverted full-back

It is not particularly new tactic and this false six or inverted full-back role is practiced by Pep Guardiola, pushing John Stones into the centre at Manchester City and Mikel Arteta using Oleksandr Zinchenko to move in and out of midfield at Arsenal to great effect.

Objectively, one would consider that Alexander-Arnold could do as well as these two in the role, while adding his passing skills to the role could make for an exciting transformation to both the player and club’s fortunes.

New hope

His assists for Roberto Firmino against Arsenal, last week, came from his more of traditional role on the wing, but his participation in three of Liverpool’s goals against Leeds were all developed in midfield. While his defence-splitting pass to Darwin Nunez for Liverpool’s sixth was something completely new from Alexander-Arnold at the centre of play and looked rather familiar in a Steven Gerrard sort of way.

Now Leeds approach to the game and their capitulation after the third goal no doubt helped Liverpool in their process, but it still worked and further experimentation is worth trying if for no other reason than it’s put a smile back on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s face.

Liverpool’s vacillating performances means a place in the top four is likely to be beyond them now. But a strong end to the campaign led from a rejuvenated midfield would at least boost morale at the end of the season. And may play an important role in how the summer transfer window plays out.