On Monday night, Elland Road become the latest arena to be reminded of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s undeniable talent.
Eight days after his rallying second half display against Premier League leaders Arsenal, the 24-year-old followed up his inspired showing with his finest performance of what has been a tumultuous personal campaign on Merseyside.
While there were ample complaints about the legality of Alexander-Arnold’s initial involvement in the Reds’ opening goal as the ball appeared to strike the right-back’s arm, there were no objections to the defender’s ensuing 55 minutes at Elland Road as he aided Liverpool to a stunning 6-1 victory over Leeds United.
Identical to events at Anfield on Easter Sunday, Jurgen Klopp chose to utilise Alexander-Arnold’s mastery in an inverted wing-back role. In doing so, the Liverpool manager watched on as the West Derby star turned on the style and put in a rampant display against Javi Gracia’s side.
That Alexander-Arnold was the man to breach the Whites’ defence and claim an assist for the opener before applying the gloss on an emphatic away-day victory as he lofted the ball into the path of Darwin Nunez felt somewhat fitting given both player and team look reinvigorated following this latest tactical masterstroke.
Helped by the selflessness of both Jordan Henderson and Ibrahima Konate who covered the right-hand flank in Alexander-Arnold’s frequent defensive absence at Elland Road, the England international looks set to enjoy a prosperous end to the 2022-23 campaign in his reinvented quarter-back role.
The Reds’ No.66 was exceptional both in and out of possession and carried the mantle as Liverpool’s creativity nucleus; boasting the most completed passes and touches in midfield, as well as claiming assists for both Diogo Jota and Nunez at either end of a rampant display
In truth, Klopp’s latest tactical roll of the dice couldn’t come at a more suitable time for those on Merseyside, with Liverpool’s recruitment staff drawing up plans for a midfield facelift during the summer months after deciding to end, for the time being anyway, their pursuit of long-time target Jude Bellingham.
Situated alongside Fabinho in a midfield pivot, Alexander-Arnold could prove to be Liverpool’s secret weapon in the years ahead as the Reds boss is tasked with building a second, great Liverpool dynasty.
With eight games of a troubled Premier League campaign remaining, Klopp is now handed the rarity of being able to devise such tactical tweaks without lasting repercussions between now and when Liverpool’s disastrous league campaign is brought to an end at Southampton’s St Mary’s stadium on May 28.
After an eight-day span at the beginning of April saw the Reds take just two points from games against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, Klopp conceded Liverpool’s chances of returning to Europe’s premier competition next season remain slim to none.
It means following a five-year period in which Liverpool have been unable to ring vast changes in the final weeks of the season due to their prolonged pursuits for both domestic and European titles, Klopp has now been handed such a luxury with the club’s Premier League campaign finishing off with home fixtures against Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Brentford and Aston Villa.
Such games are ones in which the Reds are expected to dominate possession, meaning the German will be able critically to evaluate Alexander-Arnold’s midfield credentials over the next six weeks ahead of a summer of sweeping changes on Merseyside.
Totteham’s trip to Anfield at the end of April – which could yet prove to be crucial in the hunt for European football, should results somehow go Liverpool’s way – is the anomaly of the remaining five on home soil but will still provide the Reds boss with the opportunity to assess the practicality of a 3-2-2-3 formation ahead of next season.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s remaining Premier League road trips see them visit relegation-threatened trio West Ham United, Leicester City and Southampton. That will also prove to be a priceless run of fixtures for Alexander-Arnold, especially considering his side’s catastrophic form away from Anfield this term.
In fact Liverpool had failed to score away from home against a side in the Premier League’s bottom half prior to Monday night’s thrashing, with Klopp’s men firing blanks against Everton, Bournemouth, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace.
And so while the next eight games could prove to be meaningless in the short term, they could be an invaluable first step in Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield rebuild.
Constantine Hatzidakis discovers Premier League return date after Andy Robertson elbow
Constantine Hatzidakis will make a low-key return to work in the Premier League after being cleared by the FA for elbowing Liverpool defender Andy Robertson.
The assistant referee caught Robertson with his arm during a confrontation at half-time of Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal on April 9. Hatzidakis was initially suspended from officiating duties while the FA investigated the incident before being cleared of any wrongdoing.
He did not work over the weekend due to the furore and the refereeing body the PGMOL have decided to take a cautious approach over reintroducing him. Hatzidakis has not been given a match for this weekend in the Premier League, but will instead return to work on Tuesday as the assistant VAR for Leeds’ match against Leicester.
The decision has likely been made to ease him back into work alongside head VAR Stuart Attwell at Stockley Park, rather than as an assistant referee at a match. Hatzidakis’ actions sparked a huge debate around the abuse of officials before he was cleared by the FA.
“I fully assisted The FA with their investigation and have discussed the matter directly with Andy Robertson during an open and positive conversation,” he said in a statement. “It was certainly not my intention to make any contact with Andy as I pulled my arm away from him and for that I have apologised. I look forward to returning to officiating matches.”
“Our comprehensive process involved reviewing detailed statements from Liverpool and the PGMOL, as well as multiple angles of video footage, in relation to both the incident and its surrounding circumstances.”.
Robertson returned to action when Liverpool travelled to Elland Road in the Premier League on Monday night. He helped Jurgen Klopp’s side pick up a much-needed win in a 6-1 thrashing of Leeds.
The Scotland international has been heavily criticised for his reaction in the incident with Hatzidakis. Former Tottenham striker Garth Crooks wrote for BBC Sport : “The way Robertson then turned to his team-mates in astonishment to complain that he had just been ‘deliberately’ elbowed was bordering on pathetic. The international defender should have known better.
“Had he tried that stunt in his native Scotland, in a match of no significance with an ordinary member of the public running the line, he would almost certainly have been levelled. Robertson knew exactly what he was doing and who he was doing it to. This was bullying of the worst kind and it has to stop.”
New details emerge from Liverpool transfer meeting about Jude Bellingham alternative
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are on the lookout for midfield reinforcements this coming summer, but the manager is destined for defeat in the pursuit of Jude Bellingham.
Liverpool’s preparations for a summer rebuild have already begun, with talks taking place over a number of potential midfield targets as they accept Jude Bellingham will not be moving to Anfield.
The Reds are in need of reinforcements in the middle of the park, with Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain expected to leave at the end of the season. Bellingham was strongly linked last season, but it appears the Borussia Dortmund midfielder will cost too much for last season’s Champions League finalists.
With this in mind, the focus has turned to other options. Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister are among the names being mentioned in connection with the club, who do not yet know which European club competition they will be playing in next season.
With this in mind, the focus has turned to other options. Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister are among the names being mentioned in connection with the club, who do not yet know which European club competition they will be playing in next season.
According to The Mail, the Reds’ higher-ups held a recruitment meeting last week in London’s Fitzrovia, where the club has offices. The focus, these reports suggest, was to collate information about those being targeted for a summer swoop.
One of the players high on the club’s radar is Ryan Gravenberch. The Dutch international, who has been linked with a move away from Bayern Munich after struggling for minutes, is open to an Anfield move after his advisors held talks with Liverpool.
It has been suggested that Gravenberch would command a fee in the region of £25m. However, Liverpool would likely need to pay considerably more to land Alexis Mac Allister – another of their summer targets, with talks reportedly expected ‘soon’ – after the Brighton star signed a new long-term deal with the Seagulls before the World Cup.
“There’s nothing to say about it to be honest,” Liverpool boss Klopp said in a press conference on Friday when asked about the Bellingham reports. “If we don’t speak about players we sign or not sign, why would I speak about this kind of speculation and news? I have nothing to say about it.
“It has always been like this. It’s never changed. My answer now is not about Jude Bellingham. I never understood why we constantly talk about things we theoretically cannot have. We cannot have six players in the summer for £100m [each], for example. That’s clear.
“You have to realise what you can do and then you have to work with that. How much money do we have available? Then we work with that. That’s the job you have to do.
“It’s just [about] what you can do. And then you do it and work with that. It was always how I’ve worked.
“What we need and what we want, we try absolutely everything to get it. But there are moments we have to accept this or that are not possible for us and step aside and do different stuff.”