Why Liverpool's Tactics Don't Work Without Trent

Trent Alexander-Arnold left Liverpool in the summer and was swiftly replaced, or at least in theory

Additionally, Frimpong came in, but that changed the whole system. So today I'll be looking at why Trent's departure has impacted Liverpool with the ball

why Salah is the biggest victim of the system change, and how Slott can look to fix things in the near future

I'm Jacob Horsfall, 442's resident tactician, and this is how Liverpool can replace Trent Alexander-Arnold

This was Liverpool's line-up last season. The back four was extremely flat

which meant that they had so many different options to play out from, and people like Salah could stay high

because they didn't have to come back to support Liverpool get out of pressure

But they had Trent, and if you didn't know, he's pretty good at football

especially when the ball's actually at his feet, so he basically dictates build-up for you

Trent's heat map from last season shows him being everywhere. At times, he'd be on the outside looking to whip in one of his famous crossers

and at other times, he'd be in the half space as the main target for Liverpool to split the opposition's press with a pass into midfield

And that was ideal. It meant that Salah could move pretty much wherever he wanted

If you wanted to be by the touchline to cut in and shoot, or if you wanted to drift inside off of his marker's blindside, he could do that

Basically, just based off where Trent Alexander-Arnold was roaming at that time

However, the most important part of Trent was certainly that first phase stuff

I mean, no other player played as many switches of the ball between 2017 and 2025 in the Premier League than Trent Alexander-Arnold

The second closest to him is nearly 200 switches behind him. If we look at the touch map from Trent versus Newcastle last season and compare that to Jeremy Frimpong against Crystal Palace this season

the difference in where they're taking their touches is outstanding. Now, that obviously affects everything

Because not only is Jeremy Frimpong a high-flying fullback, but the guy who's played more than Jeremy Frimpong, Milos Kyrgios

is also a high flying fullback. Both of them when they're on the pitch at the same time

want to be in the final third. They want to be causing damage to the opposition

which was obviously a plan by slot to get around losing Trent It was to overload the opposition box get in there as often as possible and play super aggressive attacking football The problem is that more attack often means more losses of the ball which is exactly what we seen at Anfield this season Because

Trent is no longer in the mid-third, we are seeing huge, huge distances for the opposition to attack

when Liverpool are caught in transition. Having full-backs who do want to get in the final third

and make an impact can certainly work, but when you've also got a midfield who are built on

rotations and it's now meaning your best player from last season is out of position, is it really

worth it? Well, for Mo Salah, no. It's actually been a disaster. Salah's heat map against West

Ham shows him coming central and deep. Compare that to last season against Crystal Palace and

the zones he's playing in have changed entirely. How many times have we seen Salah cut in and score

a goal like this? Countless. Potentially even in the hundreds across his career. But look at where

he is now. Typically, Salah would like to be here so he can cut in and attack that wide space of the

opposition's 18-yard box. Instead, he's here, narrow and actually behind the ball. But how does

this have anything to do with our mate Trent? Well, look at where Salah is here. He's in a 1v1

with a fullback and then look at where Trent is in the half space, which gives Salah an option to

pass inside, but also gives him that time to make a decision on the edge of the opposition's 18-yard

box and he does that and he finds a man. The average positions against Chelsea from last season

show Trent drifting relatively high towards the halfway line and a little bit more central

whereas Salah, he's nice and high but he's wider. He's the widest player on this map and he's got

plenty of players near him. The average positions from Man City this season, well that shows Salah

in Timbuktu, no one anywhere near him and he's not the widest player on the pitch anymore and

And that's because without Trent playing disgusting, disgusting passes, Salah's job is to now stretch the opposition's defence to give the midfield time and space to get on the ball

and then take the ball off the midfield with his back to goal. Now, it does mean that Salah's taken more touches per night this season than he did last season

but those touches that he's taken aren't in the positions he wants to be taking the touches in

Even Salah dribbles which weren even his biggest strength when Trent was here have drastically declined because now he no longer receiving him behind and having to beat one man and shoot Instead he receiving back to goal isolated no one to pass to

and having to try to turn a man who is heavy on him, preventing him attacking space

And this all means that he's having the worst goal-scoring season of his Liverpool career

But how does Arnie Slott actually look to fix things? He lost to Talisman, one of the best creative and controlling players in Europe's top five leagues

really no one can compete for what Trent can offer in his position he's one of one he's unique

so going and getting a Trent mark two or a new version of Trent or the new shiny model of Trent

well that's not possible even though we've seen Dominic Sobislai drop out of midfield and play

as a right back under Arnie Slott this season due to Liverpool's injury crisis and you know it makes

sense from a player profile point of view he's composed he's technically gifted and he has a

sublime passing range it's still not quite Trent Alexander-Arnold but could it do could that be

the solution to train Sabah's line to be a full-time right back or do they let Salah leave this summer

I know that's controversial I know I know it is I know Salah leaving Liverpool is mental it would

break the internet it'll break everything in this room I don't know why this room but it would but

is that where Liverpool are going if we look at things that have happened this season Salah's

called out the manager on his slot, dropped him for a very long period of time

Maybe Salah's just on his way out from Liverpool now. On top of that, someone like Jeremy Frimpong being Jeremy Frimpong

basically deletes Salah's role. It gets rid of the importance. A forward who is a proper forward is relatively useless out there

when you've got a fullback who's more of a proper winger. So Liverpool fans, I know you've not seen too much of Jeremy Frimpong this season

but in the long-term future, would you be interested in keeping Jeremy Frimpong

letting him do his role and getting rid of Mohamed Salah. I'm expecting a lot of people to say no and a lot of people to say yes

So let me know in the comments. Another option that Liverpool could go for is to admit defeats

With both Kyrgyz and Frimpong being the same type of fullback and both looking to be at Liverpool for the long term future and wanting to still be that marauding fullback do they just sacrifice one of them

Get rid of one of them, potentially Jeremy Frimpong, with the way he's not played too many games this season

and go and get a third centre-back profile. Because they've suffered without the ball a lot this season

at this stage of the season, they've already conceded 37 league goals. Now, if we go back to where we were last season

at the end of the season, they'd only conceded 41. So if you go and get a third centre-back

it kind of transforms the way that Liverpool look out of possession. It would allow one of the fullbacks to still bomb forward

but you would then have two central defenders capable of stepping out and managing the wide channel spaces that are being targeted

by opposition teams when they catch Liverpool on the break. And maybe that's the thinking with Jeremy Jacquet coming in

because he's played in a back three, which obviously isn't the same as the back four that Liverpool will be looking for

but he's played on both sides of the defence. He's aggressive, he reads the game well

Jeremy Jacquet slotting in here would allow for one of the full backs to still bomb forward and Liverpool to have a lot more control without the

ball it would be a tough decision though because we've only seen Frimpong start six Premier League

games this season and Kurt Gehrs has started 23 and he's been up and down in his performance but

we know that these players from where they were at their old clubs have the potential to be so so

valuable in a team that do prioritize that attacking full throttle aggressive intent we've just not

quite seen it yet but in the modern day basketball game of football there is something there

I don't envy slot in any way for trying to come to a solution or a decision here because no matter

what happens no matter what paper is thrown over the cracks whatever you want to do Liverpool aren't

going to get another Trent they're not going to get someone who completely fills that voice it's

just not possible so here's my final option get Trent back who says no hey get Trent back on

Merseyside, who disagrees? Again, let me know in the comments because I feel there'll be a few people that

do disagree, but that's it from me for today's video, if you have enjoyed, do leave a like

and subscribe, we'll be back again next Wednesday to give you more tactical insight

on the greatest minds in the Premier League, and I guess I'll see you all later, in a bit