Trent Alexander-Arnold’s absence through injury can hardly be painted as having been ideal for Liverpool, given they lost a cup final while he was out and Conor Bradley was already sidelined. But like a trial separation, Arne Slot has had a little chance to see what life might be like without his first-choice right-back.
Bradley got his second consecutive start away to Leicester, and with both sides’ fates so close to decided as to be inevitable (and now sealed, in the Foxes’ case), this was hardly the ideal game on which to judge any player.
But you have to think that having waited in the wings as Alexander-Arnold’s understudy for so long, and knowing that a summer departure for the England man would mean Liverpool dipping into the transfer market, Bradley will have known he had to make the strongest impression he possibly could on his manager.
After all, with Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk’s futures now secured, losing Alexander-Arnold would be a more palatable loss than it would otherwise have been. A massive rebuild has become a potential matter of replacing just a handful of players. This was a chance for Bradley to suggest to the Reds that they only needed to go and sign back-up for him, rather than a more senior replacement.
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His start to the game was not terribly encouraging. He stood off a ball he was convinced was going to run out for a goal kick, only for Leicester to keep it alive inside the box. Being Leicester, they at least did nothing with it.
Bradley then needed Salah to uncharacteristically charge back and win a tackle to bail him out, before being too easily beaten by a bright Stephy Mavididi and having to recover.
The right-back improved from there, but only to a point, and his performance largely served to underline that while he is an exceptionally promising young full-back with all the raw materials to make an excellent career for himself, he still probably needs a bit more time before Liverpool can promote him to a starting berth full-time – whether Alexander-Arnold stays or goes.
Bradley has many fine qualities, but they are almost diametrically opposed to Alexander-Arnold’s strengths. Alexander-Arnold thrives on finding space to show off his ridiculous passing range; Bradley wants to get an opponent at close quarters and beat him with a run. Bradley gets forward to try and get onto the end of raking passes and through balls; Alexander-Arnold wants to play those passes in the first place.
Those are tactical differences that Liverpool would get used to in time with Bradley in the side. But the biggest thing holding him back at the moment – and the biggest difference between him and Alexander-Arnold – is that Bradley still lacks the courage of his convictions at times.
Slot was given a huge case in point on the hour as Bradley brilliantly executed one of his trademark rapid surges upfield, played a one-two off Salah, saw the goal opening up ahead of him as he entered the box, heard the crowd shout for him to shoot, and…unsuccessfully tried to pick out Kostas Tsimikas at the far post instead.
There were other, smaller moments like that too: good runs up the wing producing a chance to cross, only for Bradley to stop short and play a safe short pass back to a nearby teammate instead.
For most other sides, it would be hard to fault a youngster for playing things safe and trying to be a team player. But this is a real elite-level team, where a willingness to take more risks is a requirement and an expectation. More than that, it is Liverpool, who have enjoyed the benefits of the fabulously talented Alexander-Arnold for so long that it’s very easy to take it for granted.
We had already decided to keep a close eye on Bradley for this game, and for Alexander-Arnold to come off the bench and smash home the winner within minutes just served to underline how massive a player he would be to replace.
Those Liverpool fans who have gnashed their teeth and spat bile about the possibility of his leaving for Real Madrid are only revealing the true feelings that lie beneath their anger. If Alexander-Arnold were not such a massive and important player, they simply would not care at all.
Nobody could pretend Alexander-Arnold has had his finest season. His numbers compared with prior campaigns speak for themselves, and he has found himself traipsing off to the bench midway through the second half with his face tripping him more than he ideally would have liked.
But in the unique way he plays, the way Liverpool’s play revolves so much around him, and the phenomenal talent he has at his best, Alexander-Arnold is virtually irreplaceable.
Bradley is on track to take his place in the side one day, but may just need a bit more time before he can definitely lay claim to being his direct heir.
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