OPINION
When you think about Liverpool’s most important players your mind immediately goes to goalkeeper Alisson, centre half Virgil van Dijk and attacker Mohamed Salah.
However, former Premier League winner Martin Keown believes there’s another Reds first team star who could hold the key to the team’s Premier League title bid.
“Alexander-Arnold is back in the nick of time,” he told The Daily Mail. “Until Wednesday’s win over Watford, I thought Liverpool had blown it.
“That 5-0 victory sent a message to Manchester City and Alexander-Arnold was the standout performer with a hat-trick of assists. He is only 20 but plays with the freedom and confidence of a serial winner. That is what this team have been missing.”
On the face it Keown’s claim is absurd. But consider how Liverpool have played recently without their mercurial right back in the starting line up.
They simply haven’t looked the same. They lack a sense of fluency going forward and there simply isn’t the same threat from the right hand side of the pitch when James Milner is playing at right back, perhaps understandable considering the fact he is a midfielder by trade.
You simply had to watch Wednesday’s thumping victory over Watford to realise how crucial Alexander-Arnold really is to Jurgen Klopp’s team.
He was absolutely unbelievable against the Hornets, gaining a trio of assists and setting in motion a vitally important return to form for the Reds.
Van Dijk probably is Liverpool’s single most important player, granted, but Alexander-Arnold could be the one who makes the difference in this tightest of title races.
Keown certainly thinks so, and after Wednesday it appears as if the former Gunner is bang on the money in his assessment of the 20-year-old.
