Trent Alexander-Arnold has hailed Roberto Firmino’s value to Liverpool as ‘priceless’.
Firmino recorded his 22nd goal of the campaign in Saturday’s 4-1 win over West Ham as the Reds moved up to second place in the Premier League table.
But the Brazil international continues to find himself overshadowed by teammate Mohamed Salah, who has now scored 31 times in his first 37 outings at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp has regularly praised Firmino’s work rate and admitted he was forced to rest him for a training session during a mid-season break in Marbella.
And Alexander-Arnold revealed why that appreciation for the former Hoffenheim forward is similarly forthcoming within the Liverpool dressing room.
“He’s a very, very special player,” admits Alexander-Arnold.
“I think he’s definitely underrated in terms of the recognition that he gets because he links the whole team together, especially the front three.
“He always plays a part and it just shows, if you watch him closely, his drive and enthusiasm to get back and defend as a no.9 is incredible.
“Most of the time you see him past the halfway line, tracking back and making tackles.
“You don’t really see that from a no.9 and it just shows his hunger to win. I think that’s a big part of it.”
He added: “He is priceless to us. He scores goals, he creates chances and gets assists.
“There’s not much more you want from a no.9 but that’s not just all he offers.
“His defensive duties [show] that he’s more than willing to do and sometimes he overdoes it but in a good way.
“I suppose he doesn’t have to do it but he’s willing to do it for the good of the team and the win.”
Alexander-Arnold is also relishing a renewed battle for Liverpool’s right-back position as Nathaniel Clyne nears his long-awaited return to first-team action.
He said: “I think healthy competition within each position is good for each player because knowing that you’ve got to perform every week is something that you go out there and it’s in your head.
“You know that someone else wants your space and I think it just gives you that bit more motivation to go out there and play.
“Especially in training, I think you’ve got to fight for your position as well which makes the level in training rise and effectively that rises into the performance on the weekend.
“Hopefully we’ll get a lot more results like we did [against West Ham].”