I've left out some sections of the article. Click the link if you want to read it all.
Liverpool have still not lost with him starting in that role.
Alexander-Arnold is keen to stress that he was not starting from scratch in midfield. "It is not like I did not know how to receive a ball and pass a ball. The foundations were there. It was just getting it set in a system that worked and got the best out of everyone."
But there are differences now. "Big differences," he says. "On the right side of the pitch you are quite limited because most of the time you are quite close to the touchline so you cannot pass to the right. When you are in the middle, you can pass left and right."
We have seen that pass into the right channel for Mohamed Salah more regularly, cutting through the defence for the second goal in the win over Aston Villa in September. "It opens up that passing option to the right out to Mo or whoever it is occupying that space out there."
There are still those balls out left as well. Some beauties for Luis Diaz and a slightly different relationship with Andy Robertson. "The only time I was connected to Robbo was a big switch of play. Now it is a much shorter pass." He is at the heart of everything now.
"It is a lot more connected," says Alexander-Arnold. "I feel like I am able to dictate games in there as well. You get more chance to get on the ball and dictate the tempo, dictate when and where we attack. Just that feeling of being in control of games."
In some respects, he feels made for this role. His vision allows him to see those longer passes and his technique is such that he can execute them. Only Kieran Trippier has bypassed six or more defenders with his passes more regularly than Alexander-Arnold.
The difference is that the others high on that list are goalkeepers and defenders, doing so from deep. Alexander-Arnold does it closer to the opposition goal now. He has made more through balls than any other Premier League player since the change of role.
Crucially, although Alexander-Arnold was deployed as an out-and-out midfielder at times during pre-season, he continues to be Liverpool's right-back when out of possession. That is a complication because his hybrid role demands constant concentration.
It explains why Klopp wants to see a more measured game now. "The system only works well if we have control of the game and control of the ball. With controlled possession, it means people are really able to come in and adapt and move," says Alexander-Arnold.
"When it does become a bit end to end, like a basketball game, and I am asked to go out wide and come inside and do that every time we win and lose the ball, eventually you are going to get caught out because of how the system is. That is what we have found out."
https://www.skysports.com/football/...-challenge-of-dictating-the-tempo-in-midfield
Liverpool have still not lost with him starting in that role.
Alexander-Arnold is keen to stress that he was not starting from scratch in midfield. "It is not like I did not know how to receive a ball and pass a ball. The foundations were there. It was just getting it set in a system that worked and got the best out of everyone."
But there are differences now. "Big differences," he says. "On the right side of the pitch you are quite limited because most of the time you are quite close to the touchline so you cannot pass to the right. When you are in the middle, you can pass left and right."
We have seen that pass into the right channel for Mohamed Salah more regularly, cutting through the defence for the second goal in the win over Aston Villa in September. "It opens up that passing option to the right out to Mo or whoever it is occupying that space out there."
There are still those balls out left as well. Some beauties for Luis Diaz and a slightly different relationship with Andy Robertson. "The only time I was connected to Robbo was a big switch of play. Now it is a much shorter pass." He is at the heart of everything now.
"It is a lot more connected," says Alexander-Arnold. "I feel like I am able to dictate games in there as well. You get more chance to get on the ball and dictate the tempo, dictate when and where we attack. Just that feeling of being in control of games."
In some respects, he feels made for this role. His vision allows him to see those longer passes and his technique is such that he can execute them. Only Kieran Trippier has bypassed six or more defenders with his passes more regularly than Alexander-Arnold.
The difference is that the others high on that list are goalkeepers and defenders, doing so from deep. Alexander-Arnold does it closer to the opposition goal now. He has made more through balls than any other Premier League player since the change of role.
Crucially, although Alexander-Arnold was deployed as an out-and-out midfielder at times during pre-season, he continues to be Liverpool's right-back when out of possession. That is a complication because his hybrid role demands constant concentration.
It explains why Klopp wants to see a more measured game now. "The system only works well if we have control of the game and control of the ball. With controlled possession, it means people are really able to come in and adapt and move," says Alexander-Arnold.
"When it does become a bit end to end, like a basketball game, and I am asked to go out wide and come inside and do that every time we win and lose the ball, eventually you are going to get caught out because of how the system is. That is what we have found out."
https://www.skysports.com/football/...-challenge-of-dictating-the-tempo-in-midfield
