How Trent Alexander-Arnold smashes Aaron Wan-Bissaka
By Zubin Daver
Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold is the best at his game.
We can agree that the role of a full-back has changed dramatically. This is part one of a two part series that examines this.
It has become one of the most critical positions on a football pitch, a position of extreme speciality where a player needs to be creative, industrious and flawless.
They need to be excellent crossers of the ball, be able to track back to defend and be able to do that for 90 minutes.
Brazilian pair Roberto Carlos and Cafu were fantastic at this, while Dani Alves helped reinvent the game from that position. More recent trailblazers are Jordi Alba, Marcelo and David Alaba – while Alphonso Davies and Trent Alexander-Arnold have taken their game to new heights.
How the role has transitioned over time
If we roll the clock back a few years, the most important responsibility of a full-back was defending. Their position was either one of the following: playing box to box across the length of the pitch, or playing in their own half from the midway line to their penalty box.
However, the role now demands a perfect balance between attacking and defensive capabilities. A player who is defensively sound but a liability in attack will fall down the pecking order.
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Being able to do both is prerequisite given the tactics and speed of the game.
A modern-day full-back’s responsibility is to support the attack and provide creativity from the wings. He should possess the versatility and speed to track back during an opposition counter-attack.
Some of the best players in this new system include Liverpool stars Andy Robertson and Alexander-Arnold.
English premier league football is incomplete without the traditional rivalry of Liverpool and Manchester United. The history of these two teams goes way back and both fan bases are loggerheads regarding which of their right-backs are better, Alexander-Arnold or Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
When you take a more in-depth look at the two players, their ability, playing style and the way they influence their team, there is only one outright winner: Trent Alexander-Arnold. This is why.
Tactical Awareness
TAA almost plays a right-midfield position, given that Klopp likes his fullbacks to push on and join the attack. This tactic is something that Liverpool have managed to do regularly with immense success where either Jordan Henderson / Fabinho drop down between the center backs to ensure defensive cover.
This game plan permits the Liverpool backline to play up field when in possession of the ball. The idea is to have the full-backs push higher up, squeezing the opposition team into a breaking point as they overload them with attacking and crossing options.
This style of play, coupled with a majestic right foot for inch-perfect crosses, corners and freekicks, makes Alexander-Arnold a much more complete player than Wan-Bissaka.
There are multiple pundits who said that with Alexander-Arnold playing the role so well, it is like having a player of the ability of Kevin de Bruyne playing at right-back.
There isn’t a better full-back in the Premier League when compared to Alexander-Arnold. In the modern game he is the perfect fit for most of the top European football sides.
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This also makes him a better option than Wan-Bissaka for the national team, who does not offer much guile when in the opposition’s final third. His crossing ability and proficiency to create space and make a cross is nowhere close to Alexander-Arnold.