Alexander-Arnold, who brought 10+ goals, switched to midfield? Van Dijk is down, Liverpool need to pay attention
In previous years during Liverpool's high-speed rise, Alexander-Arnold was seen as a supernova at right-back. However, last season, when Van Dijk fell significantly after a serious injury and the team's midfield regressed dramatically, Alexander-Arnold's defensive loopholes were fully exposed.
How valuable is the tactical value of being a playmaker's right-back on the offensive end? The England national team directly let him play in midfield, in exchange for goals and assists. Liverpool's new season should be considered to give him enough tactical protection.
01. Liverpool's right wing: played midfielder for the England national team
a. This long pass skill: enough to make Mbappe's eyes hungry
Alexander-Arnold was not so easy to reuse at right-back after arriving in the more defensive England national team. However, his offensive talent will not be wasted, and hitting the midfield directly becomes Southgate's "invention".
Alexander-Arnold, who debuted in midfield, contributed goals and assists in two consecutive European qualifiers. In the battle against North Macedonia, Arnold actually had a 96% pass success rate, while providing 1 assist and 9 passes to the offensive three zones.
In the case of North Macedonia, Alexander-Arnold's long pass to Saka can be said to be of very high quality.
He has the ability to suddenly let the ball hit the opponent from the back to the heart of the opponent when switching between attack and defense. If Mbappe sees it, I don't know if it will be particularly hungry.
Despite this goal, the quality of Saka's shot is extremely high. But Arnold's passing gave the space and time advantage.
Connecting Arnold with Saka is partly a replica of his partnership with Salah. In contrast, Saka is a bit more energetic.
b. Pass quickly, concisely and in a timely manner
Arnold has some ball control at his feet and can get some dribbling and getting rid of. At the same time, his passing is very timely and his vision is quite open.
Both Salah and Saka have the ability to carry the ball and put pressure on the box. So Arnold's timely scoring is even more important.
This time the pass is not too difficult, Arnold's advantage is still in timeliness, as well as the strength and precision control of the pass.
Let's look at this goal, which can be called Saka's personal masterpiece. Alexander-Arnold's catches in the ribs and Walker's points on the outside proved that his awareness as a midfielder was adequate.
02. Liverpool won't really let him play in midfield: Alexander-Arnold can provide passing creativity
A. Alexander-Arnold in the middle of the adduction: Passes better than his midfield teammates
Under Liverpool's tactical system, Salah is the strong attacking side, and the range of activity in the right midfield needs to be particularly large, which can provide defensive complements when Alexander-Arnold assists, and need to switch positions with Alexander-Arnold on the offensive end.
The decline of Henderson and Van Dijk, Arnold's offensive and defensive logic has a lot of problems.
From this attack, you can see that Henderson covers the outside and Salah draws the defense.
Alexander-Arnold is like a playmaker in midfield, standing at an attacking starting point facing the goal.
This wave of offensive and defensive transitions can be clearly seen from the camera, with Alexander-Arnold starting from the position of right-back and running directly to the center.
Salah attacked with the ball on the wing, but after cutting inside, he failed to contact the box first. After the transition ball, Alexander-Arnold seized the opportunity and delivered a beautiful over-the-top ball, but Gakpo could not take advantage of the opportunity.
Looking at the attack this time, it is still Salah holding the ball on the wing, and Alexander-Arnold is in the playmaker position in the middle.
After he won the ball, the first move to avoid the defender was still very good, but unfortunately he was broken against the second upper snatch. Fortunately, Liverpool counter-attacked on the spot and did not give the Leicester City players a chance to counterattack.
b. Ability to attack head-on in the penalty area
Statistics from the last six Premier League seasons show that Alexander-Arnold's expected assists per 90 minutes in the Premier League over the past five years are close to 0.3.
The fluctuating assist stats have to do with the efficiency with which the strikers take chances. As a passer, expected assists are more indicative of his passing consistency.
As you can see from the camera, Arnold has the ability to lead the propulsion in the middle. Straight balls, passing and getting rid of defenses, as well as passing options once in the core area, all meet the minimum requirements of a playmaker.
It was a pity that Carvalho actually stopped the ball and missed the opportunity to attack in front of the box.
At the same time, Alexander-Arnold not only can pass, he also has a strong long-range shot and free kick kung fu. This time he scored from long range and proved it fully.
03. Liverpool's signing: buy a midfielder and centre-back who can fill the right wing
A. Arnold deserves tactical protection
In the Premier League last season, Alexander-Arnold made 3 substitute appearances in 34 starts, contributing 2 goals and 9 assists, in addition to averaging nearly 2 key passes per game.
The problem is that Arnold's retreat is not timely enough when switching between attack and defense, and even if he returns, the quality of the defensive action is not high.
This time, he unlocked the siege in the restricted area and gave it directly to the other party. Fortunately, the opponent's individual ability was weak, so there was a stoppage error, allowing the England national team to regain possession.
Although he has bought McAllister, he is still more suitable for the offensive and defensive confrontation, and is not suitable for the filling and card position.
So Liverpool need to buy a midfielder who can defend the right flank, which also requires the boss to continue to open the pocket.
b. Van Dijk's Decline: Amplified the defensive line problem
Because Klopp likes tall and large centre-backs, there are natural deficiencies when it comes to filling in right-backs. Cornet is prone to injury, and at the same time he is not that flexible, and it will be a bit of a loss to go directly to the winger.
What's more deadly is Van Dijk's decline, his defensive level has a large "dive" after returning from serious injury, and he has disappeared in a step that could have saved lives.
In the UEFA Nations League final against Italy, Chiesa's goal showed that Van Dijk was no longer capable of defending the flanks and ribs.
When the opponent cut into the box, Van Dijk did not have the explosiveness of the last step forward, and could not keep up with the opponent under his feet, resulting in the ball being easily shaken away from the shooting space.
Van Dijk's style of play has always been biased towards backwards, but once had the advantage of being in the core area, he had the ability to suddenly take a step forward.
With his physique and leg length, once he can instantly push out, it is easy to disrupt the rhythm of attacking players and win a defensive advantage.
Unfortunately, after returning from serious injuries, Van Dijk's life-saving trick was gone. Too often, what we see is Van Dijk just waiting on the defensive line and doing nothing.
The opponent came to the core area and would not pass Van Dijk, but Van Dijk could not stop the opponent's shot. Whether you will lose the ball or not, it depends on luck.
Conclusion:
The key to Liverpool's defensive problems lies in Van Dijk's decline and the overall degradation of the midfield. After revamping the midfield this summer, what level Van Dijk can play is still a question mark.
Perhaps on the right centre-back, it would be better for Liverpool to prepare a player who is good at filling the right flank (Todibo is the perfect candidate). However, in the case that the midfield may need to buy 2-3 players, it is difficult to say whether Liverpool, who do not have the Champions League to play, still have the budget.