GLEN JOHNSON: In his first blog of 2020, former Liverpool and England footballer Glen Johnson on the rapid rise of Trent Alexander-Arnold, the FA Cup edition of the Merseyside derby and Chelsea’s rollercoaster form.
Alexander-Arnold’s continued progression
It’s hard not to be impressed by what Trent Alexander-Arnold is doing for Liverpool. Obviously the team is doing very well at the moment, but he’s been one of their standout players and it’s still hard to think he’s just 21-years-old.
He should just keep doing what he’s doing and if he can do that he’ll develop naturally over time. From an attacking perspective, he’s already up there with the world’s best and if there is anywhere he can improve it’s defensively. Being so young still we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves because we’ve seen plenty of times that players can have so much potential and never fully fulfil it. He’s just got to keep doing the things he’s done in a Liverpool shirt so far and if he does that it will stand him in really good stead.
Trent is very lucky in the fact that he has Virgil Van Dijk alongside him in the Liverpool defence and he’ll be learning from him every day. Playing with Van Dijk will give him so much confidence and that’s why we see him making such unbelievable passes or going on those long attacking runs. If he gets caught out, he knows Van Dijk will be in there helping out behind and it’s probably the reason why Alexander-Arnold feels so comfortable being as attacking as he is.
Nothing quite like the Merseyside derby
I don’t think Jurgen Klopp will make wholesale changes for the Merseyside derby in the FA Cup. At the end of the day, it’s another chance at winning a trophy and while he might make a few rotational changes, he won’t be underestimating Everton. It’s such a big game in the city and there’ll be plenty of angry Liverpool fans if he played a weak team and lost.
I was lucky enough to play in some of the country’s biggest derbies and I always thought the Merseyside one was the best. Liverpool isn’t a big city and you’re either Liverpool or Everton which means the place is absolutely buzzing in the days leading up to the game. Even some houses are divided and it all just means the atmosphere isn’t like anything else you ever experience.
Fortunately we won most of the derbies I was involved in, but there were times when we only got a draw and we should have won and the city does get on your back a little bit because of the passion amongst the fans. There was one time we were going to go out for dinner and we had to cancel it after we didn’t get the result we wanted!
Mixed results are to be expected at Chelsea
While Chelsea’s results might not have been quite as they would have hoped over the festive period, they are still fourth in the league and that’s a position few thought they would be in. We shouldn’t forget that and so Frank Lampard should be given huge credit for the job he’s doing at Stamford Bridge. They’ve obviously got a very young squad and it’s tough for young players to maintain such a high level of form because when they break into a team they are living the dream and riding a bit of a crest of a wave. As the season goes on, players naturally think about where they are in the table and the pressure builds, so I’m not surprised results have dropped slightly in recent weeks.
As we move into January and with Chelsea’s transfer ban lifted, I do expect Lampard to spend some money in the transfer market. I’m sure he won’t just spend money for the sake of it, but he’ll definitely be looking at certain areas where he thinks he can strengthen the side.
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