Fascinating thread
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Heāll also be offside if the ball gets shaped to be played to him. VvD might be playing him onside in that still (might, Iām not sure he is) but the offide trap is clearly getting sprung there. Weāve caught the opposition offside nearly twice as much as anyone else in the league, its kind of our specialty.
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He hasnāt scored from outside the box since 2017 because he has always had a defender running at him.!
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Everyone knows that the fastest way to travel between two points, is a skew line.
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He looks to be well offside look at the lines on the pitch
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Just looking at some stats on our players and I think we should reiterate how good Alexander-Arnold actually is. Itās truly insane just how talented he is.
In terms of npxG+A (expected non-penalty goals and assists) he ranks in the 99th percentile (you canāt rank in the 100th percentile obviously) among all wing backs in the top 5 European Leagues with 0.42 per 90 minutes. Progressive passing he also ranks in the 99th percentile with a massive 8.97 per 90 minutes. For āShot Creating Actionsā he ranksā¦ you guessed it, in the 99th percentile with an enourmous 4.55 per game. Finally he also ranks in the 99th percentile for passes attempted, assists and xA. Defensively his numbers are obviously lower, partly because we donāt defend anywhere near as much as other teams but his interceptions rating is still in the 95th percentile.
To put that into context Joao Cancelo, probably a lock for team of the year at left back because heās having a terrific season, ranks like thisā¦ npxG+A: 94th percentile, 0.3. Progressive Passes: 98th percentile, 7.28. Shot Creating Actions: 93rd percentile, 2.91. Interceptions: 86th percentile, 2.33.
I want to highlight in particular the Progressive Passes. Cancelo is in the top 2% of all wing backs for progressive passes, yet Alexander-Arnold makes 1.69 more every 90 minutes. Thatās ludicrous. This is a truly fantastic footballer we are watching. Arnold truly dominates any and all competitiors to the crown of Worldās Best Wing Back. As the numbers show, it really isnāt even close.
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Also sums up the difference between what people think pressing is and what it actually is when done well. Itās not just about individuals working hard to try to win the ball. Itās about collectively manipulating passing options with the combination of collective positioning and pressure on the ball that makes them pass the ball into the spaces you want them to.
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Footballās not about numbers 'Arry. The kid canāt defend. You need to listen to them pundits.
Trent is easily behind AWB, R James and K Walker. Southgate knows more than Klopp.
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I absolutely love how it is has quietly sneaked into conventional wisdom that AWB, the 50 million quid best RB in the world, is not a ālong term solutionā for Utd.
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Really unlucky a few times when it seemed like thereās a chance for him with England.
Weāll see how much heās out for, Klopp only confirmed so far that it will be a matter of āweeksā.
Weāll have to turn to options like Millie, Gomez, perhaps Bradley even if we have less āsmallā games, an alternative option like Hendo. Klopp even mentioned in theory that we could change the system, although thatās probably not likely. He sounded like if theyāre all fit and ready, Millie might be the prefered option. And then perhaps Gomez to come in here and there just to give fresh legs. Against Arsenal, Robbo played a lot deeper than Trent. So we can play with that also, do the opposite (having two natural options at LB to share that burden), etc.
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Good time to get it at least, we donāt play City for over 3 weeks yet. Hopefully heās back for that, Forest and Watford shouldnāt be an issue without him.
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Tactical withdraw? Iād love us to do more of this, Fergie was a master of keeping his squad away from international injuries with ātweaksā just before.
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Gomez will deputise and we will hardly miss Trent. 
At least much of the time will be over the international break. Iād rather see Bradley deputise than Gomez.
Bradley i think should get in against Forest.
Watford will be an issue if they get in Sarr and the other guy and overloads the wings, But not big enough an issue that itās a problem. Milner with Gomez as deputy should be okay.
Hopefully we get him back at the end of the season run in from City onwards.
Also If it is a tactical withdrawal , thatās a good decision. It wasnāt as if Trent was a guaranteed starter in a must win qualifying match.
Sarr plays on the opposite flank.
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Pity for Trent not being able to play next to his river this weekend.
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Confirmed by the official site.
Either this is a smart ploy to avoid the international games for Trent and give him some good rest. But itās not really Kloppās ways, is itā¦
Or, if this news is genuine and it probably is, itās a serious downward trend for our title chances. All spots on the pitch for us are arguably doubled with an able deputy, bar the right back spotā¦ Nottingham and Watford are certainly doable without Trent. But will he be back for the cheaters? It would suck to be without him for this six-pointerā¦
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