The debate surrounding Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s position continued after his influential display at Leeds, with “nonsense” calls from Jamie Carragher and a comparison supplied by Gary Neville.
Liverpool’s No. 66 has been on an exponential rise since his breakthrough under Jurgen Klopp in 2017/18, a time that he has certainly helped change the perception of the right-back position.
Alexander-Arnold’s ability on the ball has earned plenty of admirers to go with his 46 assists in a Liverpool shirt, ensuring calls for a positional change to midfield have grown louder.
Gareth Southgate would experiment in the September international break and Jurgen Klopp‘s response of “Why make the best right-back in the world a midfielder?” spoke volumes.
And on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, both Carragher and Neville were in agreement with the Liverpool boss and the latter was on hand to supply a comparison that Alexander-Arnold would no doubt appreciate.
“He’s the best passer of a footballer I’ve ever seen from full-back. Ever,” Neville said.
“He’s David Beckham and Kevin De Bruyne at right-back. It’s unbelievable what he does.”
In the four Premier League games to date, the No. 66 has created 20 chances. That’s seven more than the next best in Jack Grealish and Mohamed Salah and in Carragher’s mind, “He’s not going to create any more in a different position” so leave him be.
“There’s always this debate about should Trent play in midfield, and I have never quite got it,” Carragher said.
“I haven’t got it at all. And when I hear people say it, I just think it is absolute nonsense to be totally honest.
“He’s actually creating that many goals in the position that he’s in, why would you change him? It’s madness.
“I always remember going from midfield centre-back in the middle of the pitch to full-back under Houllier and my initial reaction was, ‘full-back, I don’t want to play full-back!’
Trent in midfield, why ????
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) September 13, 2021
“But you got so much of the ball. The way we see the game going now, we see teams play 4-3-3 a lot so there’s normally six or seven players in the middle of the pitch.
“And when you’re a full-back you just get that time where you can just get that little half a second longer where you can get your head up.
“And Trent now is in that position and he is creating so much and doing so well, why would you change him?
“You’ve seen his position change slightly at times this season and he’s almost been playing in a semi-midfield position from full-back and creating huge chances.
“Leave him where he is, he’s absolutely fine. He’s not going to create any more in a different position or create more goals.”
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