Softfootball understands that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s surprising transfer to Actual Madrid again in Could 2025 has quietly torn a gap in Liverpool’s attacking rhythm, and three-time PFA Participant of the 12 months Mohamed Salah is clearly feeling it.
For years, that proper flank was Liverpool’s heartbeat, and Trent was very pivotal as his 5.6 line-breaking passes per 90 minutes fed Salah in excellent sync, because the Englishman had diagonal balls chopping via tight defences like butter in his armoury.
Salah’s appreciation publish through his official X account after profitable the PFA Participant of the 12 months award:
That understanding with Arnold wasn’t constructed in a single day, as seven stable years of chemistry made Salah’s hybrid winger-striker position flourish. However now, with Trent gone, Liverpool have been pressured to experiment. Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley, and even Dominik Szoboszlai have all taken turns at right-back.
But none appear in a position to reproduce Alexander-Arnold’s precision. Szoboszlai, most likely probably the most inventive of the lot, manages solely 3.5 such passes per 90, and Salah’s isolation has been apparent each within the defeat to Galatasaray within the UEFA Champions League and lately within the shameful Premier League defeat by the hands of a low-strength Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
This season’s numbers inform their very own story: 3 objectives and three assists in 9 video games in all competitions, a far cry from the 12 objectives and eight assists he racked up in the identical stretch final time period. Analysts and pundits have pinned a lot of the blame on Trent’s departure; even some followers are starting to consider that narrative, however that’s not the entire image.
On Liverpool’s official X account there are movies of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah getting concerned in objectives.
Watch movies under:
Watch one other video uploaded on the workforce’s X account:
Salah turned 33 in June, and time is catching up. His explosion, that persistent urgent, and even his eager edge have all diminished considerably. Slot’s high-press mechanism has additionally been tough to regulate to. With multi-million greenback signings like Aleksander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike failing to combine in, in addition to the grief of Diogo Jota’s passing, it’s evident that your entire assault is off steadiness.
The reality is, Salah’s decline began months earlier than Trent’s transfer, however regardless of not being at full energy, the Egyptian was very pivotal in Liverpool’s run to the league title with 29 objectives and 18 assists. Nevertheless, along with his strengths additional dwindling, the cracks are starting to point out as a result of Liverpool don’t produce other options to win video games if Salah doesn’t flip up.
So sure, shedding Trent Alexander-Arnold damage. However Salah’s stoop runs deeper: it’s tactical, emotional, and private. Liverpool now face the problem of rebuilding their rhythm with or with out their once-perfect duo and switch to a much bigger future with the brand new abilities they’ve.
