Player Focus: Skrtel's Evolution Into Liverpool's First Choice Centre-Back

Wojciech Szczesny’s quest to land his 12th Premier League clean sheet of the season ended after just 54 seconds on Saturday as Martin Skrtel kneed Steven Gerrard’s cross into the back of the net. The powerful centre-back was then able to head Liverpool into a two-goal lead as the hosts ran riot in a 5-1 win over Arsenal.

The 29-year-old ended the encounter with a WhoScored rating of 9.3 as a result of his commanding display at Anfield. Skrtel has been an imperious figure in the heart of the Liverpool backline this season, with his average rating (7.5) currently placing him alongside Dejan Lovren at centre-back in the Premier League team of the season.

"He looks a class act. It’s a big credit that he’s been able to prove me right," manager Brendan Rodgers said of Skrtel ahead of their trip to Fulham on Wednesday. The praise from the manager is not only richly deserved, but will boost the confidence of the defender ahead of the business end of the campaign.

Despite the Reds boss insisting that he wouldn’t be sold last summer, there remained a large possibility of the centre-back quitting Merseyside during the off season. While Kolo Touré was acquired to cover for the retiring Jamie Carragher, the arrivals of Mamadou Sakho and Tiago Ilori suggested that Skrtel may be allowed to depart the club, with the defender admitting: "I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about leaving."

Yet, injuries to Sakho and vice-captain Daniel Agger saw his first-team chances increase, with the Slovakia international grabbing the opportunity to cement a spot in the starting XI with both hands. The impressive displays allowed for Ilori to leave for Granada on loan last month, with Skrtel having now started 23 of 25 league matches this season.

Perhaps the biggest asset of his game is the capability to clear the defensive ranks, highlighted in his style of play ‘clears the ball out of defence often’. This not only exhibits his ability to alleviate pressure on the backline when the opposition is attacking, but also his reading of the game, with Skrtel often in the right place at the right time in the defensive third.

This has seen him make a total of 262 clearances this season, the most in Europe’s top 5 leagues, while only Loic Perrin (153) has made more headed clearances than Skrtel (148). His ability to clear the ball from danger has seen the Reds ship just the 30 league goals this campaign, a record only a handful of Premier League teams can better and has allowed them to maintain their push for a top 4 finish.

It’s little shock to have seen Skrtel make as many headed clearances as he has, with the player boasting a WhoScored strength of ‘aerial duels’ as he provides defensive solidity against teams that like to put balls into the box. Despite his seeming no-nonsense approach to defending, however, the powerful centre-back is more than capable of playing the ball on the floor.

At Anfield, Rodgers has integrated the same philosophy he used at the Liberty Stadium, with his then-Swansea side dubbed ‘Swanselona’ due to their possession-based, passing game. While Skrtel doesn’t give the impression of a defender able to play the ball along the deck, he’s altered his approach to match the needs of his manager, echoed in the comments of the Reds boss: "All credit to Martin: he has taken the responsibility to be a better player. His use of the ball is more composed." The stats reinforce Rodgers' sentiments, with Skrtel's average number of long balls per game at their lowest in the last 5 seasons.

With Skrtel resisting the temptation to shift the ball over a greater distance, he has developed a strength of ‘passing’ and a style of play of ‘likes to play short passes’, suiting Rodgers' requirements. As a result, only Sakho (91.8%) and Lucas Leiva (91.3%) have a better pass success than Skrtel (90.7%) of every Liverpool regular this season as the team aims to start attacks from the back rather than adopt a more direct approach.

This allows Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard, the deepest lying midfielders in the current starting XI, to utilise the creative aspect of their games, with the former able to carry possession into more advanced positions and the latter capable of picking out a teammate from distance, evidenced in his 138 accurate long balls this term, a figure bettered by only 5 outfielders. With the likes of Luis Suárez, Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling better with the ball at their feet rather than in the air, the evolution of Skrtel into a more rounded defender has not only moulded him into a better player, but also brought out the best in the more attack-minded individuals.

As Liverpool boast a WhoScored strength of ‘creating chances through individual skill’, the development of the former Zenit star has allowed for the team to become a more devestating unit under Rodgers.

Do you think Martin Skrtel is now Liverpool's first choice centre-back? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below