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Arne Slot embraces Trent Alexander-Arnold after his crucial winner for Liverpool against Leicester City last month(Image: DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)

If the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold means Liverpool are losing a player of rare gifts in an attacking sense, the defensive shortcomings might at least be easier to replace.

Rarely has a week gone by at Anfield since his rise to prominence eight years ago where he hasn't been subjected to a critique or two about the flaws in his game.

At times, the criticism has become so hyperbolic as to have bordered on comical.

Earlier this year, Roy Keane's typically glib put-down suggested the Reds star would be lucky to get a place in the Tranmere Rovers line-up based on his performance in a 2-2 home draw with Manchester United, while the ubiquitous Gary Neville has always had a word or two up his sleeve for how Alexander-Arnold plays the position he used to fill at Old Trafford.

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Considering the honours' list is the envy of virtually every other 26-year-old in the modern game, it's fair to surmise the detractors have, on occasion, tended to exaggerate the weaknesses.

Perhaps fuelled by social media clips, a race to the bottom by the banter merchants and aided by a mistrustful national boss in the risk-averse former England manager Gareth Southgate, it's been easy to pick holes in Alexander-Arnold on the national stage.

Liverpool supporters, for their part, have always defended their right-back like one of their own because, well, that's is exactly what he is.

Or perhaps now was?

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As a boyhood Reds fan who graduated to superstar status and then vice-captain, such a fierce rallying was one of the perks he has enjoyed.

But while the dismissive hot-takes of his defensive incapability have been overplayed at times, there is an agreement from those on both sides of the debate that it is not the area of his game that is his strongest.

What has made Alexander-Arnold such a unique player and, as a result, the most debated full-back of the Premier League era, is how his obvious imperfections sit awkwardly alongside the breathtaking ability with the ball at his feet.

The fade, the arch, the whip - the varied passing range of Alexander-Arnold has been sumptuous and he has been the sort of player that has always made supporters creep closer to the edge of their seat whenever he has gained possession.

There's a reason he is the defender with the most assists in Premier League history and his particular set of skills are rare commodities that will be almost impossible to replace.

That is the task that now awaits the club, though.

But for Arne Slot, there is opportunity to be found somewhere in the middle of the veering scale between sadness and anger over Alexander-Arnold's controversial, but not-entirely-unexpected decision to leave as a free agent, which was confirmed on Monday.

It's clear Slot prefers his full-backs to operate in a much more traditional framework.

This season, though, they have operated as more orthodox defenders.

The West Derby-born Alexander-Arnold might have 64 Premier League assists to his name but only six have come under Slot, in a campaign where his game has been tailored through ample analysis and coaching from his new boss.

When Slot first joined, one of his first one-to-one meetings with the No.66 centred around body shape and positioning that would allow him to be better placed to stop the marauding wingers of the top flight.

Fearing a dressing down on the need to improve as the chat started, Alexander-Arnold was shown clips of players like Anthony Gordon skipping by him too easily from the previous season, but rather than be admonished, the England star was informed how he could counteract that from a technical standpoint.

It was a meeting that left an impression and forced something of a rethink from the player himself.

"We kind of talked about targets and aims and I said to him that I would like to be the defender that no-one wants to come up against in Europe," Alexander-Arnold said in September.

"We agreed that he will be harsh on me.

I am someone who wants to learn, someone who wants to be the best and someone who strives to be the best ever."

But while any replacement - be it Conor Bradley or an external addition via the transfer market - will be subjected to the same forensic video analysis from a defensive point of view going forward, Liverpool's major problem is recreating the same joie de vivre that Alexander-Arnold has brought to the team for close to a decade.

As something of a footballing unicorn, it's almost impossible to delve into the market for a like-for-like replacement at right-back.

What Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes must now do is focus on creative midfielders who are available this summer, in an effort to redress the surplus of attacking intent that is about to shuffle off to Real Madrid for nothing.

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Slot and Hughes have known of Alexander-Arnold's intentions to leave since March, meaning the blueprints to move away from the generational creative fulcrum at right-back have been mapped out for a number of weeks now.

How they cover for the creative shortfall without Alexander-Arnold will be fascinating.


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