‘Gerrard in his prime’ – Gary Neville wowed by what 26y/o Liverpool player did v Spurs

Liverpool went four points clear at the top of the Premier League after beating Tottenham Hotspur 6-3 away from home on Sunday. 

Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah both scored a brace, while Alexis MacAllister and Dominik Szoboszlai also found the net as the Reds picked up all three points.

Salah moved to fourth place in Liverpool’s all-time list of scorers, but the Reds players were not satisfied with the defensive performance.

Gary Neville was blown away by Trent Alexander-Arnold, who produced an amazing cross from which Diaz scored the opening goal.

He has compared the 26-year-old defender’s crossing ability with that of David Beckham, Kevin de Bruyne and prime Steven Gerrard.

Trent Alexander-Arnold: Is he playing differently under Arne Slot?

Against Spurs, Alexander-Arnold provided an assist, completed seven long balls and created four chances.

Defensively, he also made seven clearances, won three tackles, three duels and registered three interceptions.

Arne Slot openly acknowledged that his playing system is not too different from his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp, and that is why the transition has been seamless.

But he has made certain tweaks to Klopp’s system, and it has worked wonders so far.

Position

Under Klopp, and especially in the 2023-24 season, Alexander-Arnold moved more in central positions despite starting as a right-back.

However, he has mostly played as a traditional right-back under Slot. The defensive duty is more of a collective effort under the new manager rather than individual brilliance, and he has been helped by the presence of Ryan Gravenberch, who is arguably the best number-six in the Premier League at the moment.

His defensive stats have improved as a result, and he is no longer an easy target for the opposition wingers.

Style of play

Alexander-Arnold used to receive more touches and play out more passes on average, and Liverpool looked up to him for creating chances from central midfield areas or from the right-hand side last season. This even prompted Gareth Southgate to play him as a central midfielder in the Euros for England.

The Reds defender used to deliver more crosses into the box, almost frequently. He used to switch plays with diagonal deliveries, and there was a propensity to play out killer passes almost every time he received the ball.

Under Slot, he is averaging just 53 passes per 90 minutes. Mark Carey wrote a brilliant article for The Athletic, where he showed how Liverpool formed an L pattern at the back when Alexander-Arnold received a pass.

Slot wants his players to play adventurous and attacking football, but Liverpool’s style is more controlled than it was under Klopp.

Under the German, it was full-throttle, high-octane football, as he relied heavily on risk-taking transitional play. It was more beautiful and exciting to watch as well.

Under Slot, Liverpool still do similar things, but they pick the right moment to execute them. Alexander-Arnold now happily plays out more backwards and sidewise passes, but he generally now picks the right moment to execute a cross or a killer pass, a la the assist for Diaz’s goal.

That doesn’t mean Liverpool under Slot are boring, but rather quite the opposite. But the style is less chaotic and more measured, and players like Gravenberch and Alexander-Arnold have largely benefitted from it.