In divisive times like this, I believe it's important to make an active effort to find the rare things that unite us all. While the internet and growing global economic inequality seemed to be slowly fracturing culture day by day, the pandemic then accelerated the process into hyper-speed. Log onto Twitter on a given day and you'll find plenty of people you aggressively agree with and even more who you aggressively disagree with. But behind that terrible 280-character opinion you just read and that vague, anonymous, in-joke username, there is a person (most of the time). And that person, just like you, is struggling with a lot of the same issues, day after day.
Of course, it's really hard to not get sucked into that cycle of aggrievement, and sometimes it can feel like a relief to know that so many people out there are wrong and you are right. So, I'm going to help. What I propose is that we all come together to appreciate one of the few universally beloved institutions in the world today: the fullback play of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Just kidding! If you so much as dare whisper the initials TAA while you're staring into a mirror, a ghoul will appear behind you. It will scream, "BUT CAN HE DEFEND?" Then another ghoul will appear behind the first ghoul and it will scream, "JURGEN KLOPP'S SYSTEM DOESN'T REQUIRE HIM TO DEFEND." The screaming will continue, back and forth, until it combines into such a high-pitched, dissonant screech that the frequency of the sound will tear a hole in the fabric of the universe and usher in the apocalypse.
At least, it sure seems that way sometimes!
With Liverpool sitting in ninth place seven matches into the season, Alexander-Arnold's defensive struggles have become more acute. A player that many consider to be the best right back in the world is suddenly on the fringes of the English national team picture, too. With a trip to league-leaders Arsenal on Sunday, what is really going on with Liverpool's right-back?