Trent Alexander-Arnold has become a key player for Liverpool after a change of position in recent week
Liverpool
Everyone has to change’ – Trent Alexander-Arnold makes admission over Liverpool position switch
For all the magic he possesses at his feet, it was with a forcible use of his hands that Trent Alexander-Arnold helped push-start both his and Liverpool’s season belatedly into life.
The altercation with Granit Xhaka during Arsenal’s trip to Anfield just over a month ago may not in itself have lit the touchpaper for a remarkable comeback for Jurgen Klopp’s side that ultimately earned a point against the then long-time Premier League leaders.
But it has assumed a certain symbolic importance as a turning point, with Liverpool having since embarked on a six-match winning run to give themselves an outside chance of Champions League qualification.
Key to that has been the outstanding form of Alexander-Arnold, who has prospered in a new role that has seen him push into central midfield whenever Liverpool are in possession. From just three assists all season ahead of the Arsenal game, the 24-year-old now has nine.
True, it remains some way short of last season’s tally of 19. Alexander-Arnold, though, didn’t lose faith in his abilities despite being among many Liverpool players to have suffered a severe dip in form this campaign.
“I think it hasn’t gone as well for me as it had done in previous seasons and last season specifically, but I know there have been games when I have performed really well.,” he said. “It has been a season I can learn from to improve.
“I probably had the same approach personally as I do for the team’s performance this season. I look at it the same way – you don’t go from being a world-class team or world-class player last season to then losing that ability and that talent and not having that within you.
“So I know as a team, and personally, what I can achieve and the potential I’ve got. A bad season or a bad run of results or bad performances won’t change that belief I’ve got within.
“Potentially it is hopefully a season of learning and understanding and bonding, because I think the tough times are when you really come together, when you learn about each other and when you really fight for each other on and off the pitch. It draws you closer as a team. I’m trying to put a positive spin on it, but those things are true.”
Alexander-Arnold’s success in the new ‘inverted’ right-back role has prompted Liverpool boss Klopp to admit it could influence his summer recruitment drive. The player, though, believes the change is only proving profitable due to it being embraced by the squad as a whole.
“It’s a full team system, it’s not just my position,” he said. “Everyone within the system has to change and has to adapt to it. There are still things to learn, but we’re enjoying it. We’re creating chances, we’re dominating games and it’s going well.
“I think there is an element of confidence back and a belief. When you are getting bad results your confidence takes a dent and you then lack that belief that you’re a top team anymore. Once you get back to winning ways you start to believe, you start to feed it and then it just flows. I think we’re just at the beginning of that process again.”
Liverpool are at Leicester City on Monday still harbouring hopes of an unlikely Champions League qualification after recent wobbles from both Newcastle United and Manchester United directly above them in the table.
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