Nathaniel Clyne backs Trent Alexander-Arnold to succeed in the midfield role
Speaking to Sky Sports (h/t Liverpool Echo), former Liverpool right-back Nathaniel Clyne has backed his successor Trent Alexander-Arnold to excel in midfield.
After a lean season in terms of form and energy, Jurgen Klopp tweaked the system against Arsenal by moving Alexander-Arnold to a hybrid right-back/central midfield role.
The 24-year-old started as a right-back but moved alongside Fabinho in defensive midfield when the team is in midfield. From there, he is capable of finding all the passes in the book, while not having to track 50 yards to catch up with the opposition winger on counter-attacks.
Looking at his quality on the ball and running power, Clyne thinks Alexander-Arnold can do a great job in midfield. Here’s what he said (h/t Liverpool Echo):
“Coming through the academy at Liverpool, I think he was playing quite a few of his games at centre-midfield. He’s capable of playing that position and has got the quality obviously with his passing.”
Although the sample size is small, this change in role has instantly hit the ground running for Alexander-Arnold. Very seldom that happens unless the player is so good and adaptable with or without the ball.
We all know that Clyne was Klopp’s first right-back at the club before he was replaced by this academy star who went on to redefine the role of a fullback in the game. Not many can do what Trent can, hence there is a lot of jealousy around and people wait to find his mistakes.
Let’s hope that the 24-year-old returns to his peak form consistently, irrespective of where he is playing. If he is comfortable in this hybrid role, the manager may continue with that to get the best out of him.
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Our next game is against Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday. Liverpool would expect to have lots of possession in that game, hence potentially another chance for us to see Alexander-Arnold in his new role.
