If it seems that Arne Slot is picking on Trent Alexander-Arnold in the Liverpool dressing room, it is not because of a problem between them. Quite the opposite, actually.
Because the right-back had an unusual request. He wanted his manager to criticise him, sometimes in front of his teammates. He asked him to mention every time a forward beat him and to brand it unacceptable. It is a punishing approach designed to make him better. He feels that Slot, with his attention to detail and track record of improving players, can help.
There is an understandable focus on their relationship. Alexander-Arnold represented one of the great triumphs of Jurgen Klopp’s management: first his decision not to buy a rightback because he knew of a teenage talent in the ranks, then as an extraordinary creator who reshaped Liverpool’s tactics as the full-backs attacked more than the midfield, and finally as the vice-captain who inverted into midfield.
It did not escape attention that Slot substituted AlexanderArnold in each of his first three games or that the 25-year-old was unhappy to be taken off against Brentford. It is a cause of some concern that Alexander-Arnold is in the last year of his contract at Anfield. Yet if mentions of his future can involve talk of a free transfer next summer, Alexander-Arnold voiced his own ambition: to become the toughest defender to encounter in Europe.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 23, 2024 من The Independent.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 23, 2024 من The Independent.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Tuchel left with big calls to make after Carsley refresh
No pressure, Thomas. Lee Carsley hands over to Thomas Tuchel promising to give England’s next manager a comprehensive debrief on the three autumn camps but perhaps also elevating expectations. Not so much with the results – promotion in the Nations League was anticipated for a team ranked fourth in the world and who reached the final of Euro 2024 – as with his assessment of England’s prospects for the time covered by Tuchel’s 18-month deal.
Wiegman calls up uncapped trio for injury-hit Lionesses
England manager Sarina Wiegman is confident Laura Blindkilde-Brown and Ruby Mace can both make the most of their first senior call-ups to an injury-hit squad.
Wales promoted as Cullen double freezes out Iceland
Wales won Nations League promotion as Liam Cullen’s first two international goals helped them to a 4-1 victory over Iceland.
Retail bosses gifted excuse for when things go wrong
It’s not just British farmers who are hacked off by the latest Budget some of the biggest names in retail have now joined forces to send one of those angry, multi-signature letters to the chancellor, scolding her for the imminent tax hikes coming their way.
Jaguar pounces on new logo
Car giant Jaguar has unveiled a new logo and a rebranded range of electric cars alongside marketing slogans such as “delete ordinary,” “live vivid,” and “copy nothing.”
OF UNSOUND MIND
A disquieting mood permeates the BBC's 'The Listeners', the complex story of a teacher whose life unravels after she starts hearing a ceaseless, mysterious hum, writes Nick Hilton
It's grit over gloss in photo show's eye on the Eighties
Protest, poverty and privilege - The 80s: Photographing Britain at Tate Britain offers an exciting, if partial, view of a decade that remains highly polarising, writes Mark Hudson
Publicly-owned rail may not get us back on right track
Nationalisation is often touted as a golden ticket to a better train service. Simon Calder is less optimistic it will work
CAFFEINE FIX
Why does a squirt of syrup in your coffee at Christmas burn such a massive hole in your wallet? Olivia Petter finds out.
Longing and loss: our era of British cinematic elegance
It is four decades since A Room with a View’ made Merchant Ivory a household name. Sarah Sands recalls a world in which her brother Kit and her then husband Julian were central
