Arne Slot was in conversation with Rio Ferdinand (Image: TNT SPORTS)
says he simply rates and “higher” than Trent Alexander-Arnold in a midfield position as he explained why the academy graduate has played exclusively at right-back this season.
While the 26-year-old continues to roam forward under the Dutch coach, he does not invert into a midfield area as much as under last season.
There have long been calls for Alexander-Arnold to be moved into midfield for club and country due to his world-class ability in possession and the question marks against his defensive abilities.
But Slot has used Gravenberch and Mac Allister as his two deep-lying midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation – and says that won’t be changing any time soon.
The manager told Rio Ferdinand in a TNT Sports interview: “My thought process is that these two are incredible in these positions. I rate them higher in these positions than Trent.
“Trent is good in this position but I rate them higher. Trent is the best player in the world when he is down the line. His crosses are incredible. I have to make sure he’s either on the inside when he receives the ball and can cross it in.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is renowned for his passing and crossing ability (Image: GETTY)
“Or that he’s close enough to goal to have a shot on target or he crosses in from the side. He’s good centrally, we saw this with England, he was OK to good, but he’s special on the side.
“You want to have him for the last pass and if he’s in the No.6 role in the double pivot that’s more for players to bring our special players that can change the game on the ball.
“I want to have Trent in those positions [where he’s on the ball].” Slot insists he’s been impressed by the right-back’s “willingess to improve” and added: “When we started to work together, I emphasised also a bit on his defensive work.
“He had to keep producing the numbers in assisting goals, but if we wanted to be a team that concedes less shots, he had to improve a bit in defending. And I have shown him that he’s able to do so if he puts enough effort in.
“Sometimes, like the [Manchester] United game, which was an exception this season, he seems to lack a bit of effort in some moments. But if he’s at the top of his game, he’s a very good defender as well.
“We have spoken a lot to him about consistency. Because he’s been quite long with this club, he sometimes trains or has played games like, ‘Ah, it’s another one from 200 that I’ve already played or all these sessions I’ve already had.'”
Arne Slot labelled Trent Alexander-Arnold “the best player in the world down the line” (Image: TNT SPORTS)
Slot was also full of praise for Gravenberch and Mac Allister as he explained how vital they are to his set-up. The 46-year-old, who has only lost two of 32 games as boss so far while winning 25, said: “They’re important to me but they’re especially important to our attackers.
“We feel we have attackers that are really special, the front three, and we’ve got five or six of them.
“So the only thing we have to make sure is that these players come in promising positions having the ball a lot, and therefore you need two No. 6s that can bring the ball towards them.”
While watching a clip alongside Ferdinand, Slot said: “Here you see Virgil (Van Dijk) with the ball. I think he’s one of the best, maybe the best player who can bring the ball towards the midfield.
“And then with Macca and Ryan, we have two exceptional players who can bring the balls to Mo (Salah), to Lucho (Diaz), to Cody (Gakpo), to Darwin (Nunez), to (Diogo) Jota. Therefore, we’ve chosen to bring in two players that were maybe a bit more attacking-minded in the past.
Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch have been excellent for Liverpool this season (Image: GETTY)
“So Macca played a lot of time as a No. 10 for Brighton. Ryan always played as a bit more offensive midfielder, but they’re so comfortable on the ball.
“I even think the player that we wanted to bring in [Martin Zubimendi] – I think it’s out in the open that much – was also a player that was really comfortable, is still a player that is really comfortable on the ball and can bring the ball from our last line to our forwards.”
Noting Gravenberch’s ability to spin opposing midfielders and drive forward into space with the ball, Slot said: “This is a special quality Ryan has, that he can turn away from his man.
“He is one of the few holding midfielders, pivots, the way you want to call it in this country, that can create an overload by a dribble. Mostly these players pass a lot.
“Ryan is good in passing as well but to create an overload by a dribble, you don’t see this many times as a No. 6.”