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Prominent pundits and former footballers Rio Ferdinand and Michael Owen believe Trent Alexander-Arnold benefits from Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson's presence on the pitch.
Both Henderson and Alexander-Arnold started for the Reds in their UEFA Champions League encounter against Rangers on Tuesday (October 4). The duo performed admirably as Jurgen Klopp's troops picked up a 2-0 win at Anfield.
Alexander-Arnold has been on the receiving end of plenty of criticism this season for his insipid defensive displays in an at times dysfunctional Liverpool team. Henderson, meanwhile, has already missed five matches this term due to a hamstring injury and hasn't been in the best of form either.
However, Ferdinand and Owen believe the Reds skipper's ability to cover the space left behind by Alexander-Arnold when he moves forward helps the right-back thrive. Ferdinand told BT Sport (as quoted by the Liverpool Echo):
“With the ball he’s [Alexander-Arnold] a magician. The numbers he’s putting up in recent seasons have never been seen from a full-back in this country. In that sense, he’s the modern full-back.”
The former Manchester United defender continued:
“Where he has been questioned, is in defensive positions and I think he’ll be honest enough to say there is a part of that and there have been lapses in concentration and things he can clean up on.
“I’m one of them who likes to look at the good things in players, what they bring to the team and this team has been built to get the best out of him in the attacking sense.”
Ferdinand added:
“We saw a lot of that in his passing, maybe not as normal, but where he does go and vacate was very much protected by Jordan Henderson and I think that factor there plays into him performing his best when he’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.”
Owen agreed with his former England and Manchester United teammate's points, saying:
“I thought Jordan Henderson was key today, you saw the shape he was playing, in the first half he was filling in for him every time he went forward.”
The 2001 Ballon d'Or winner added:
“He gets in forward positions and that means there’s a gap there but when someone’s plugging it, it means he doesn’t have to worry about what’s behind him and that’s key. If he’s got Jordan Henderson in the team, I think we see a different player.”
Alexander-Arnold recorded a key pass and six accurate long balls for Liverpool against Rangers, with his creativity on full display. Henderson, meanwhile, completed 94% of his passes, laid out two key passes and won three tackles (as per Sofascore).
Liverpool return to winning ways with 2-0 victory over Rangers
Liverpool entered their match against Rangers on the back of a 3-3 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion over the weekend. The Seagulls exposed plenty of holes in the Reds' midfield and defense, causing concern among their fans.
However, Klopp's troops bounced back from that defeat with a professional display to win 2-0 against Rangers in the Champions League. Alexander-Arnold scored a glorious free-kick in the seventh minute before Mohamed Salah's second-half penalty secured all three points.
Liverpool managed just their third clean sheet and fourth win in nine matches across all competitions this season in the process. Next up, they face a daunting visit to Premier League leaders Arsenal on October 9.
