No time is wasted for the Liverpool fullback. Trent Alexander-Arnold operates like a sniper on the run, and that creates panic for the opposition. I can’t think of another Premier League player like him.

Watch. You will rarely, if ever, see him take a third or fourth touch if Liverpool is on the go. If Liverpool is taking their time, he might, but Liverpool rarely takes their time.

It catches you off-guard because it is only the goalkeeper and Trent looking to pass on their first touch. Almost all of the other Liverpool players like to dribble, especially the attacking players. Ball falls to Trent, and he immediately hits you.

You can almost see the opposition defenders flinch in anticipation because the moment you see him wind up to pass, you know it will be going into a dangerous area, and it will be accurate. That “Oh, no” moment hits because of how consistently accurate he is.

It is terrifying. The only problem is timing it. 

The Liverpool forwards have to always have a run ready, or the pass is wasted, and that seems difficult to do because he isn’t always passing from the same part of the pitch. One moment he is on the overlap, the other moment he is sitting back like a holding midfielder, and the other moment he is inverting into the half-space.

This way of playing becomes an issue when he plays for England. The Liverpool forwards are used to timing their run to meet his pass; the England forwards are not. 

When the timing is right, he looks selfless. When the timing is off, and no one makes the run, he looks selfish or out of touch with the team.