Trent Alexander-Arnold’s season was notable for a few reasons - his return the top of the goal involvement charts, for example - but the one that took up most of the headlines was Jurgen Klopp’s decision to deploy the right-back in midfield during long stretches of any given match. Trent’s move into midfield was the talk of Liverpool’s tactical flourishes in the 2023-2024 season and many wondered what it might mean for the young right back’s future in the game.
Well, the future is now as Gareth Southgate named TAA as Declan Rice’s midfield partner in a double pivot to kick-off England’s Euro 2024 campaign. And, to be clear, this is a significant step in that TAA wasn’t even nominally a right-back who moved into midfield while in possession: for the entirety of his 69 minutes on the pitch, the young Scouser was truly a right-sided midfielder, only rarely dropping into the defensive line.
Here are some quick observations on what we saw during Trent’s time on the pitch.
He Still Drifts Wide
Trent certainly played in the midfield and took up a lot of spaces centrally, but it was pretty clear through out the match - and backed up with this heatmap - that he still found some joy and space pulling wide. Though, kind of important to note that the shade indicating high presence was similar for the outside flank as well as the center-most channel for a right-sided midfielder.
England’s Tactical Choices Set to Protect Trent
Whether it be Declan Rice who seemed to be tasked with being the most defensive of the two in the double pivot or shifting into different formations, it was clear that Trent’s role wasn’t meant to be a defensive specialist, but rather as one of the ones building the attack. In the first half, for example, as England were able to compress the field and successfully bring essentially all outfield players into the Serbian half, you saw them switch to a 3-4-3 formation, with Trent playing the right midfield role. This tactical switch allowed for the team to overload the Serbian box and did lead to some chances, including what would be the game winner in the 13th minute.
Out of possession, England would mostly fall back to either the 4-2-3-1 or, at least in parts of the second half, a flat 4-4-2. In both of those formations, Trent generally played close to home and was quite tethered to Declan Rice.
It Wasn’t All Smooth...
Trent was caught out in possession a couple of times, mostly memorably mishandling a pass rifled into him at about the 30 yard mark. The ball ended up at the feet of former Fulham man Aleksandar Mitrović, who fired a shot just wide of the England goal. That being said, that it stands out really is a testament to Trent generally doing the job and being tactically disciplined for most of his time on the field.
...But It Was Quite Good
Trent’s passing range and ability to cause problems for opposing defenses was on display. Whether it be placing a superb free kick into the area that really should have been finished off given it literally hit an England player in the box, or managing to ghost into areas that caused defenders to pull out of position enough for other players to find room for their own movements, it was a mature and composed performance from Trent.
Conclusion
It showed a lot of promise and could be a prime example of what Liverpool could see next season knowing that there is an able right-back in Conor Bradley (and Joe Gomez behind the Northern Irishman) who could allow Trent to move into the midfield. There would still be questions, of course, as to who might partner best with Trent. And the general thought might be that whomever the partner is would necessarily need to be the more defensive-minded between the two. But that’s a lot to hang on what amounts a smidge over two-thirds of a full-match’s worth of evidence.
For now, what we know is that TAA can do a job in the midfield and not look out of place. The general competencies are there and the opportunity to lean into the best gifts he’s got all remained on offer. That’s really the big bottom line for most coaches. We’ll see what Southgate opts to do in following matches and, perhaps more importantly, when England won’t be expected to carry the possession battle like was expected against Serbia.
