Arne Slot has three available options for the position but each is missing something
Jeremie Frimpong has a fantastic injury record. He only missed two games through injury in the last three seasons for Bayer Leverkusen.
So to then miss two other league gamest through injury just as he was starting out his Liverpool career is a tad unlucky.
That said, Liverpool need to replace him for the upcoming fixtures against Newcastle and Arsenal, after which the international break punctuates the league calendar and Frimpong may then return for the trip to Burnley on 14 September.
Frimpong’s like for like replacement would have been Conor Bradley, who made 19 Premier League appearances last season and was expected by some to replace Alexander-Arnold, before Liverpool went out to sign Frimpong.
However, the Northern Ireland captain has only just returned to training after a spell out due to injury, and remains unavailable.
Joe Gomez is not yet up to full fitness but he played some 20 odd minutes in the 4-2 win over Bournemouth. Slot said on Thursday Gomez “wasn’t able to train three days in a row”, so they would have to evaluate him by Monday and see “if he can start” against Newcastle.
So that means the 28-year-old could at least be expected to see some action at St James’ Park. But if he doesn’t start what other options do Liverpool have?
Slot added that Liverpool were lucky to have “other players that can play there”, and then he mentioned Wataru Endo and Dominik Szoboszlai.
It was Endo rather than Gomez who came on for Frimpong after the Netherlands international was subbed off against Bournemouth, but he only played 12 minutes there before Slot brought on Gomez and switched him to midfield.
So he is realistically Liverpool’s number two choice to play in that position if Gomez is not able to start.
The third option would be Szoboszlai. Based on Slot’s glowing praise for Ryan Gravenberch, the highly valuable No 6 will probably return to the side at the first available moment, especially in tough fixtures such as against Newcastle and Arsenal, and given Liverpool have come under much scrutiny for their defensive ability.
A Gravenberch return to the middle of the pitch against Newcastle would leave no obvious spot for Szoboszlai there, assuming Slot deploys a midfield base of Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister, with Florian Wirtz playing his second league game as an advanced No 10.
The Hungarian then either has to drop to the bench or start at right-back, before possibly switching to midfield in the second half, if either Wirtz or Gravenberch – who is likely to show the signs of a lack of match fitness – needs to come off and Gomez is coming on.
Performance against Newcastle and the extent of Gomez’s fitness by next week will probably determine which of the three options starts as right-back for Arsenal’s visit to Anfield.
