Speaking on his podcast, Gary Neville has been waxing-lyrical about Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The right-back has been utterly incredible this season. There’s no other way to describe him.
Bear in mind that this is a defender, he has two goals and 10 assists to his name already in all competitions, and we’re not even into the new year yet.
Neville believes that Alexander-Arnold is a phenomenon, stating that he’s never seen a right-back in the Premier League who can deliver a ball quite as well as he can.
What’s been said about Alexander-Arnold?
Neville was full of praise for the Liverpool ace.
“Alexander-Arnold is an absolute phenomenon when it comes to the quality of his passing and his his delivery. It’s something, as you say, I’ve never seen before from a full-back. It’s De Bruyne, it’s Beckham, it’s Gerrard. Those are attacking players and he’s a right-back. It’s the highest accolade that I could pay him,” Neville said.
Redefining the role
Every now and then, you get a footballer who completely redefines his role in football.
Claude Makelele did it in the midfield, Lionel Messi did it as a false nine and now Alexander-Arnold is doing it as a full-back.
Jamie Carragher once famously told Neville that nobody wants to grow up to be a full-back, but Alexander-Arnold has somehow actually made this position fashionable.
As Neville says, he’s never seen a player like this, and, to be honest, neither have we.
Yes, the likes of Cafu, Dani Alves and even Neville himself have shown that full-backs can contribute to an attack, but Alexander-Arnold is his team’s main creative hub from right-back, and that’s something we’ve simply never ever seen.
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