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Recent underrated Liverpool players – Day 5

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Arbeloa was a very unexpected success at Anfield between 2007-2009

Arbeloa was a very unexpected success at Anfield between 2007-2009

Alvaro Arbeloa – Arbeloa was in the same mould as Finnan but gave Liverpool something a little different.

While Finnan will alway be remembered as hard working, dependable and solid, Arbeloa was a much classier player. It sadly took him leaving for Real Madrid for most Reds to realise what we’d lost.

Signed for a small fee, Arbeloa spent barely three seasons with Liverpool and was often seen but not heard. Often, with players at the back, that’s usually a good thing as it means they’re doing a job with minimal fuss.

The remarkable thing about Arbeloa though, was that he would often snuff some of the world’s best players out completely and make it look like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Remember the 2-1 victory over Barelona at the Nou Camp in 2007? You probably do, few can forget it. What is easy to forget though is that, for much of that night, Arbeloa was tasked with keeping Messi quiet. Few could’ve done that so emphatically.

There’s also the occasions when Arbeloa came up against Ronaldo for Man Utd and managed to reduce his impact when the Madrid player was at his best before his big move.

It says much of Arbeloa’s quality that, despite forking out a fortune on Glen Johnson, along with various other signings and loanees, that Liverpool have not come close to replacing what Arbeloa offered us in the years since he left.

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I'm a 32 year old Liverpool fan, living in the heart of the City Centre. I've supported the club since the day I was born and have been writing articles for L4L for over 3 years, writing close over 350 articles in that time. My favorite player of the past generation is Sami Hyypia.

I am the current editor for L4L, with my day job being in R&D for the NHS.