Trent Alexander-Arnold has pointed to England team-mate John Stones as a player he watches to help him adjust to his new “hybrid” role.
Alexander-Arnold broke through at Liverpool as a right-back and has since become renowned for his ability on the ball, offering a real creative threat despite being a defender.
But of late, the 25-year-old has been deployed by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in a hybrid role, allowing Alexander-Arnold to step into midfield and give him even more licence to get forward and hurt the opposition.
His transition has mirrored that of Stones, who has been utilised himself by Pep Guardiola in a more diverse role, to great effect too with Manchester City winning a historic treble last season with Stones a key part of that success.
Speaking after Liverpool’s 3-0 home win over Brentford on Sunday, one that moved the Reds to within a point of Stones’ City at the Premier League summit, Alexander-Arnold revealed his England team-mate is a player he watches to aid his growth in the new role.
“I enjoy learning about the game,” Alexander-Arnold said ahead of meeting up with England for the November international break. “Watching things, watching players, different systems, different teams, how different players play it. There are some players who play it really well.
“I think as someone who plays the inverted, hybrid role – I don’t know what people call it these days – then it is obviously John Stones.
“He is someone who, for a long time, I have admired his game. He is exceptional, so I watch him a lot – clips or even when I am just watching City’s games, I will sit and focus on him.
Qualified! ✅🏴 PIC.TWITTER.COM/VI7CPHGRLA
— Trent Alexander-Arnold (@TrentAA) OCTOBER 17, 2023
“I have always admired him and I admire the way [Stones’ City team-mate] Rodri plays.
“He is pivotal in that team and someone who is massively underrated but like we have seen recently, when you take him out of the team, they are not the same. That just shows how important he is.”
Alexander-Arnold has started in midfield for England on a number of occasions and is listed as a midfielder when squads are announced. He has struggled to get playing time as a right-back for the Three Lions, with Southgate often preferring to play the likes of Reece James and Kyle Walker.
Alexander-Arnold is enjoying the slightly different role he is asked to play with England, adding: “The conversations I have had with the [England] manager and the staff there, I go there as a midfielder, I train there and that is where I try and play on the pitch.
“It really does help me in that sense. I am not playing midfield week in, week out here but I am getting on the ball in central areas, and knowing how to receive and conduct yourself and play a game in midfield is a lot different to at the side of the pitch.
“I think when the ball advances up the pitch it becomes more about protection and stopping counter-attacks. It is more disciplined.
“I think the way I see it and the way I am told and explained to play it [at Liverpool], it is almost when we have the ball I am a midfielder and when we don’t have the ball I am a right-back.”
