For Liverpool, Trent Alexander-statistics Arnold’s for shots and opportunities generated during open play may present Jurgen Klopp with a difficult dilemma.
Trent Alexander-Arnold excels at setting goals. Last season, he contributed 18 assists in all competitions, which ranks second among Liverpool players in the modern era behind Steve McManaman’s 20 assists in 1995/96.
Before his rise to prominence, only twice in league history has a defender amassed more than 11 assists in a single season. Alexander-Arnold, who just turned 24, is just outside the top 50 assist contributors in any position over the past 30 years of top-flight football after having two seasons with 12 goals and one with 13.
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However, he has failed to set up a goal for this season. Liverpool’s creative dynamo for the previous four seasons has less assists than their goalie with more than a quarter of 2022–23 completed.
For Alexander-Arnold, things aren’t nearly as horrible as that sounds. The player wearing number 66 had produced five clear-cut chances after the club’s defeat to Nottingham Forest, more than any other player.
Roberto Firmino, Darwin Nunez, and Mohamed Salah were three forwards who had four of them, and you would have expected them to score when given a great opportunity.
Alexander-Arnold is only 0.03 critical passes per 90 below his rate from 2019/20, the season in which he racked up 13 assists, even if he is producing somewhat less opportunities than last year in the league (per Understat). The Reds’ first-choice right back, though, is yet to contribute to a league goal this season, according to some recently shared shot involvement data from The Analyst.
In the league this season, only Salah has been a part of more open play possession sequences that have resulted in a shooting. That suggests that Alexander-Arnold has continued to be crucial for Liverpool. However, the involvements can be divided into three groups: shooting, chance produced, and build-up to shot (which are passes in the earlier stages of a sequence).
Although the difference may only be one and the season is still in its early stages, it is notable that the England international has attempted more goals himself than he has assisted teammates.
If we compare the shots according on their expected goal value, then those that Alexander-Arnold has generated have a 1.39 to 0.87 advantage over those that he has taken himself. However, an examination of his performances does not present a favourable picture, particularly when he is away from home. The 24-year-old has only produced two chances from headers on the road, both of which was worth just 0.02 xG (for Salah at Fulham) and 0.05 xG (for Nunez at Everton) respectively.
Both times, the deliveries were made from a location that was almost likely close to the by-line and the corner flag. That isn’t usually a problem because of Alexander-superb Arnold’s crossing ability, and he can obviously only play the ball from where he receives it.
His finest attempts have nearly always come from considerably deeper locations, with forwards attacking the ball in a largely empty penalty box while giving the goalie little opportunity to make a stop. Nunez can be more productive than many other recent Liverpool forwards in a crowded box, as he proved against West Ham, but Arnold is not a fan of crossing from close to the goal line.
It’s also reasonable to wonder what happened to the change in his attacking position that allowed him to lead the Premier League in through-balls the previous season. Trent has played one game at Anfield, where he has, as you might imagine, also produced more chances, but in 2022–23, his lone ball that split the defence was again for a header (against Crystal Palace).
Alexander-Arnold is by no means the only player at the team who struggled in 2022–2023. However, if the attacking patterns are making him shoot more often than make things happen, Jurgen Klopp might need to think about making another tactical change.