Liverpool manager Arne Slot has addressed one of the biggest tactical questions facing his side this season: how to replace the immense creative void left by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure to Real Madrid.
Speaking after the club’s final pre-season friendlies, Slot acknowledged the scale of the challenge, admitting that the team has “lost with Trent a lot of creativity from the back.” Alexander-Arnold holds the record for the most assists by a defender in Premier League history (64) and was often the catalyst for the team against stubborn defences.
While many expected new right-back Jeremie Frimpong to be tasked with filling that role, Slot has revealed a different plan. The manager has instead tipped another of the club’s major summer signings, attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz, to become the team’s new creative hub.
“I think Florian has this quality as well in a totally different position but he brings that creativity,” Slot explained to the media. “Florian has a lot of creativity in the final third.” The German international’s impressive statistics for assists and chance creation in the Bundesliga certainly support this view.
The biggest challenge for the team will be replicating the almost telepathic connection that Alexander-Arnold shared with star forward Mohamed Salah. According to Opta data, no other player pairing in the Premier League came close to the 146 “line-breaking passes” that the former Liverpool right-back played directly to the Egyptian star.
Ultimately, Liverpool are not attempting a like-for-like replacement for their former homegrown hero. Instead, Arne Slot is re-engineering his team’s creative engine, shifting the primary responsibility from the defensive line to the attacking midfield. Whether Florian Wirtz can forge a new, equally deadly partnership with Mohamed Salah will be a key factor in Liverpool’s Premier League title defence this season.