Trent Alexander-Arnold being listed as a midfielder in the England squad still looks odd no matter how often he features in the category or dictates play in the hybrid role for Liverpool. Taking it further, it could be interpreted as evidence of England’s confusion over how best to utilise the rare gifts of a very modern full-back. But not by Alexander-Arnold himself. As on the field of play, he finds clarity where others see complications.
Gareth Southgate is likely to need Alexander-Arnold’s creativity in midfield again for the final Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia, especially with James Maddison out of the squad and Jude Bellingham expected to follow suit. Amid continued debate over his place in the England team, and after the debate over why he did not have a place at all, the 25-year-old will welcome the chance to confirm his listing as an international midfielder.
“From the conversations I have had with the manager and the staff, I go there as a midfielder, I’ll train there and that is where I try to play on the pitch barring the Australia game last time,” Alexander-Arnold says. “It really does help me in that sense. I am not playing midfield week in, week out here [at Liverpool] but I am getting on the ball in central areas and knowing how to receive and conduct yourself and play a game in midfield is a lot different to at the side of the pitch.”
It was just over two years ago when Jürgen Klopp expressed bewilderment at Southgate experimenting with Alexander-Arnold in midfield for 45 minutes against Andorra. The Liverpool manager said at the time: “In this game, where England are that dominant, Trent could play in midfield. I would rather he was the six than, in this case, the eight. That is possible, but why would you make the best right-back in the world a midfielder?”
Klopp, no stranger to adaptation and fresh ideas, started deploying his world-class right-back in a hybrid midfield role in the final months of last season, with more emphasis on his creativity than potential as “a six”.
The Liverpool vice-captain says: “The way I see it and the way I am told to play it, it is almost when we have the ball I am a midfielder and when we don’t have the ball I am a right-back. Half of the time or 60% of the game I am playing in midfield, so naturally people warm to the idea of me playing in the middle of the pitch.
“Defensively I haven’t been given the opportunity to know how to play there just yet, but it is something I study. I enjoy learning about the game, watching things, watching players, different systems, different teams, how different players play it and there are some players who play it really well.
“It is a completely different role, a completely different system. There are added demands for what I need to do, but a lot of it is the same. For me, it has always been about playing with freedom to get on the ball and try to create and make things happen, progress us up the pitch. I think it is the same but it is about playing those passes from more of a central area and a more set in stone midfield area. It gives me opportunities to create for the team and make things happen and win us games essentially, and that is all I am trying to do out there.”
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Alexander-Arnold’s effectiveness in midfield was underlined during the win against Brentford on Sunday, when he exploited a gap in Thomas Frank’s well-drilled side to find Darwin Núñez, who in turn released Mohamed Salah for the opening goal. Victory took Liverpool to second in the Premier League and ensured their next game after the international break, away at Manchester City, will be laden with the significance Klopp hoped it would carry this season. And it is City who provide Alexander-Arnold with the best examples of how to adapt from defence to midfield.
“As someone who plays the inverted, hybrid role – I don’t know what people call it these days – then it is obviously John Stones,” he explains, when asked to name a favourite case study. “He is someone I have admired for a long time. He is exceptional, so I watch him a lot. Clips or even when I am just watching City’s games, I will focus on him.
“I also admire the way Rodri plays. He is pivotal in that team and someone who is massively underrated but, like we have seen recently, when you put him out of the team they are not the same. That shows just how important he is. I will watch players from the past as well – Busquets, Alonso, Pirlo, Stevie G [Gerrard]– those players I have always enjoyed watching.”