Sky Sports co-commentator Alan Smith praised Trent Alexander-Arnold for a ‘delightful’ moment in the first half of Liverpool’s Premier League clash against Leicester on Monday night.
Just after the quarter-hour mark of the game at the King Power Stadium, the 24-year-old scooped a pass over the home side’s defence, with Cody Gakpo latching onto the ball.
However, a poor first touch from the Dutchman – who had been in a very promising position – gave Wout Faes the opportunity to intervene and clear the danger for the Foxes.
Speaking on commentary for Sky Sports (20:16), Smith said of that passage of play: “It’s a delightful little dink from Alexander-Arnold. That’s what he’s all about, seeing those passes and then executing them. It deserved a much better touch than it got.”
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Shortly before that moment in that match, Sky Sports showed a graphic (20:15, see screenshot below) which showed how Trent has been the leading player in the Premier League for a number of metrics since Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal on Easter Sunday.
That was the first game which featured the 24-year-old in his more advanced ‘inverted full-back’ role, and it marked the start of a five-match run in which he accumulated six assists (Transfermarkt).
The Reds had been struggling to carve out much of a threat in the opening half-hour of the game against Leicester before Curtis Jones opened the scoring in the 33rd minute.
Unfortunately, nothing came of the earlier chance for Gakpo, but as Smith had referenced, it was a moment of cheeky improvisation which has come to characterise Trent’s sublime skill with a football at his feet.
Ideally the number 66 will continue to create such promising chances, which in turn will be converted into goals as Liverpool try to chase down a top-four finish.