MY ACCOUNT
Liverpool returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion as they slammed Arsenal 4-0, with Trent Alexander-Arnold lauding an “outstanding” second-half display.
The Reds lost 3-2 to West Ham before the international break and had drawn their last Premier League game at Anfield but bounced back in style on Saturday.
Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah and Takumi Minamino were on target in the victory, with the latter three scoring after the break.
Alexander-Arnold, who assisted three of England’s goals in the 10-0 win over San Marino on Monday, set up two of Liverpool’s strikes.
He provided a wicked cross for Mane’s opener and also layed up Minamino’s effort, which came just 56 seconds after the forward had come on from the bench.
Since the start of the 2018-19 season, the full-back has now provided 38 Premier League assists, four more than any other player in that period.
“A team of our quality shouldn’t be losing games,” a bullish Alexander-Arnold told Sky Sports after Liverpool put themselves into second place, four points behind leaders Chelsea.
“The way the league is going, any loss is a bad loss. We have bounced back the best way we could. A very good performance.
“It was exactly what we needed, nothing more and nothing less. They came as two banks of four and were tough to break down but we scored our goals and put the game to bed. To see out the clean sheet is very good.
“First half we had that aggression but didn’t capitalise on it. The first 15-20 minutes of the second half were as good as we’ve pressed all season. We were all over them – they were just seeing red blurs all over the place. That second half was outstanding.
“It’s always good to contribute to the team. Scoring, creating goals is what my game is based on. I’m happy with that, I just need to keep up that form.
“I’m feeling good out there. I’m playing with freedom and finding myself in positions I haven’t previously. It’s going really nicely. These are the levels I expect of myself.”
Alexander-Arnold created a game-leading four chances in total, while the cross he put in for Minamino’s goal resulted in an opportunity with an expected goals value of 0.829, the best chance of the match.
Only two outfield players (Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara) registered a better passing accuracy than Alexander-Arnold (93.5 per cent).
Of Alexander-Arnold’s 46 attempted passes, 12 came in the final third – with only Salah (16) and Jota (13) attempting more – while he also delivered eight crosses, two more than any other player in a superb individual performance.
“He’s a good player, for him with his right foot, it’s a no brainier,” said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. “The goals were all great, all important. Something to enjoy.”
