Kevin Nolan has claimed that Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold ‘jogs back’ when the ball goes past him.
The West Ham United coach, who was a pundit for Premier League Productions on Monday night, was speaking about Alexander-Arnold’s current form in Liverpool colours.
The 23-year-old has been heavily criticised for his lack of form and his continued troubles when defending.
After a nightmare international break that resulted in zero minutes for the player, he then proceeded to make two mistakes as Jurgen Klopp’s side dropped more points during their 3-3 draw against Brighton over the weekend.
That performance put even more scrutiny on the assist-crazy right-back, who is now facing the toughest test of his career.
Being part of David Moyes’ backroom staff at West Ham, Nolan would have analysed Alexander-Arnold’s game a lot.
And when reviewing the weekend games, following the conclusion of Leicester City’s 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest, Nolan shared his thoughts on Alexander-Arnold’s form and how West Ham would deal with the player tactically, as he told the Final Word on Premier League Productions (03/10/22 at 11:00 pm).
“The biggest question that everybody always goes on about Trent is when the ball passes him as a defender,” said Nolan. “What’s his reaction to it?
“You see it; it’s more of a jog back, when he goes forward, you see him sprinting and that’s where I think people have this perception of Trent. He’s a forward-thinking player, but that’s where Klopp wants him to play.
On how West Ham go about tactically against TAA: “What we have done in previous seasons is that we have stuck two out on him because he’s the one who is the most influential in assists, where the play goes and where Jurgen Klopp wants to play through.
“You hear him talk all the time about Jordan Henderson having to get over and help him out and do that defensive job for him, because of the quality this lad has on the ball.
“We have found, the transition and when we do win the ball back, we can then expose them spaces he leaves and try to get in-behind Liverpool – sometimes I think it’s unfair the criticism, but he gets enough plaudits to warrant that.”
WILL A CHANGE OF SYSTEM HELP TRENT?
This isn’t just Alexander-Arnold out of touch, but many players around him, including perhaps the two most important players – Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.
As soon as Liverpool start to tick, then normal service should resume, but could a change of system be on the cards?
Klopp usually deploys a 4-3-3 formation, with his fullbacks as the creators and the wide players as the constant goal threats.
But given the club’s poor form, there are suggestions all of that could change and they could deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation ahead of their Champions League clash against Rangers on Tuesday.
Liverpool fans are probably crying out for a change because Klopp isn’t one who tinkers with his plans, but this could now result in interesting viewing.
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