Khaberni - An English press report revealed today, Tuesday, the stance of star Trent Alexander-Arnold, Real Madrid's full-back, on catching up with the Liverpool match in the Champions League.
Arnold left Liverpool in June, after his contract at Anfield ended, and joined Real Madrid with a five-season contract.
The Champions League draw resulted in an anticipated match between Real Madrid and Liverpool in the fourth round of the league stage.
Arnold suffered a hamstring injury last September during Real Madrid's opening match in the tournament against Olympique Marseille, leaving the field after just 4 minutes.
Since then, Arnold has continued the recovery process to return and participate normally with Real Madrid.
Arnold missed many important matches for Real during the past period, such as the Madrid derby, the Juventus match, and El Clasico.
According to the British newspaper "Daily Mail", Arnold will be ready to play the Liverpool match in the Champions League.
Real Madrid will visit Liverpool on November 4, at Anfield, in the fourth round of the league stage of the Champions League.
This comes at a time when Real Madrid is suffering from the injury of their main full-back Dani Carvajal, who underwent knee surgery after the Clasico match.
Carvajal is expected to be absent from Real Madrid until the beginning of the new year.
Why did Liverpool lose its balance?
The question on the minds of the followers is "Why isn't the defense and midfield system at Liverpool, which was effective last season working now? The answer comes from two main factors.
Liverpool’s press is no longer the same; the system that distinguished the team under Jurgen Klopp, based on high organized pressing, has significantly diminished in effectiveness.
This reminiscent of what happened in the 2020-2021 season, when the team lost its balance after a decline in pressing quality, finishing third behind Manchester City and United.
On the other hand, the new full-backs are completely different from their predecessors, as the playing style has changed completely following the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold, and the entry of the new duo Milos Kerkez and Jeremy Frimpong.
The influential absence of Arnold
English football has long struggled to understand the nature of Alexander-Arnold, currently a Real Madrid player, as he started his career as a midfielder, and his technical and passing skills were closer to a pivot player than a full-back.
He is simply one of the best passers in England, and for this reason, many believed he was wasted at full-back and that his natural place was in midfield.
However, his experiences in this role were not convincing, perhaps because his years on the right side reshaped his tactical personality.
In international football, where coaches prefer tactically ready players due to time constraints, Arnold was not comfortable for English coaches, as they wanted a right-back who resembles traditional full-backs rather than a playmaker advancing on the line.
The long passes and creating balance
What Liverpool lacks today are two key things that characterized Arnold; the first is his precise long passes (30 to 40 yards) that often freed Salah on the right side, giving him the perfect space to penetrate defenses.
The second thing is his pivotal role in building, as he would shift when needed to an additional pivot player alongside Gravenberch, giving the team a technically and tactically phenomenal balance.
Whereas Jeremy Frimpong, coming from Bayer Leverkusen, is a totally different type; an offensive full-back who loves to run with the ball more than passing it, and tends to advance on the outer wing, not inward.
Although this style may serve Salah, who prefers to cut inwards in the long term, the team currently lacks the harmony and balance that Trent provided.
Salah himself is experiencing a quiet and unusual start to the season, as he has not yet gelled with the new forwards, and he completely lacks the passes that used to come to him from his former teammate on the right flank.
The upcoming challenge
It’s natural for any new system to face problems at its beginnings, especially after changes of this magnitude, but the deeper issue lies not so much with the new players as with the player who left.
Arnold has left, and with him a unique artistic flair that is not easily replaced, providing the team with a priceless tactical identity.
While Slot attempts to rebuild the team in his own image, Liverpool, at least at this stage, will continue to pay the price for the absence of the player, who made the right-back position a revolutionary tactical role unparalleled in modern football.
