Trent Alexander Arnold and Virgil Van Dijk
Trent Alexander-Arnold has named his favourite ever assist as a Liverpool player and fans will be surprised to learn it was not a corner taken quickly.
Trent Alexander Arnold said: “For me, it would be vision, execution, timing, weight of pass, distance, strength, technique. In football, it’s so important to be two steps ahead and I think the sports vision training that I’ve been doing has really helped me value that even more. The experience has made me realise that your eyes can be trained and improved on as much as any other aspect of the body. I think working with Red Bull on this sports vision project has really made me realise how important vision is throughout the world of sport – especially football.”
Despite his favourite assist being for a Salah goal, there is a different Reds teammate who is the defender’s favourite player to pass to.
Trent Alexander Arnold said: “The best player to pass to is [Roberto] Bobby Firmino. He’s got a touch like an angel so doesn’t matter how you give it to him! I’d probably say Phil Foden is the best at England to pass to. Amazing, delicate touch.”
Alexander-Arnold faces a road to recovery this summer and a race to be fit for Liverpool’spre-season preparations after pulling up in the last minutes of England’s friendly win at the Riverside Stadium, and was in visible discomfort when limping down the tunnel. And a scan on Thursday has confirmed he suffered a grade two quad tear and is now set for a period of four to six weeks on the side-lines.
With two Bournemouth players blocking his path down the line, he curled a sumptuous ball the best part of 40-50 yards into the penalty area, dropping just over Nathan Ake’s shoulder to an on running Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian cushioned a delightful header first time into the back of the net and the pass quickly became his trademark in seasons to come. Extraordinary vision combined with perfect technique and the fullback is working hard on improving those traits. Explaining his decision and why the work he has been doing is so important
