When Real Madrid FC confirmed Trent would be heading their way, social media was awash with reports from the Spanish capital that the Galácticos believed they had orchestrated a major coup to bring the best right back in the world to the Bernabéu for about 8.5 million pounds (BBC).
Trent Alexander-Arnold is indeed the best right back in the world right now. An assist machine, pass master, and overall qualities on and off the ball mean this is a huge loss for Liverpool.
Assist Machine
History has already been written. No defender in the history of English football has helped his team to score more than Trent Alexander-Arnold.
At just 21 years old, Trent Alexander-Arnold finished the 2018/19 season with a record 12 assists from a defender— a record that got his name officially entered into the Guinness World Records book of 2020. He broke his record the following season, registering 13 assists.
Pass Master
Over the past seasons, Trent Alexander-Arnold has consistently shown superb ability to make accurate, perfectly timed, and weighted passes into very dangerous positions in the opponents’ half and 18-yard box.
As the picture above shows, Trent can make his superb passes from virtually anywhere on the right flank. This has been vital for Liverpool’s ability to progress the ball forward and relieve pressure at the back.
His passing ability can be typified by these two examples below.
Trent’s “sexy” defence-splitting pass in one of his final appearances in a Liverpool shirt suddenly turns a defensive situation into a goal-scoring opportunity.
It is fascinating that Trent Alexander-Arnold can still excite and dazzle Jurgen Klopp this much, despite the long time the German has spent on a front-row bench watching the right back in action.
Fitness, Speed & Ball Control
We have seen many players in the English Premier League clock top speeds and many others have above-average balls. However, the ability to control and maintain balance at top speed is rare—a good number of them have a poor first touch, and it is not easy to cure.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s speed and fitness help him cover a lot of ground, press, and dominate the right-hand side.
Besides speed, the English international has good ball control skills and a good balance of both.
Fitness is key and underscores what one wise fan on X once said in reference to Reece James’s string of injuries over the past few seasons: “Ability without availability doesn’t help much.”
Reece James is gifted, but he must shake off his injuries to consistently feature and help his team compete for the Champions and Premier League. He has so far done well to bounce back and win the Europa Conference Cup with Chelsea.
Trent’s Defensive Frailty Is Massively Overrated
Thomas Tuchel, who is coincidentally Trent Alexander-Arnold’s national team head coach, is the latest high-profile figure to question Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defensive contribution to the team. Raw data shows that Thomas Tuchel is falling a little off the mark.
What EPL Data Shows
Only 4 defenders have more tackles and interceptions, and only one defender has won back ball possession more times than Trent Alexander-Arnold in the history of the English Premier League.
Trent Alexander-Arnold ranks 6th among defenders with the highest number of interceptions in the history of the English Premier League. He also ranks 11th for the fewest goals conceded during his time in Liverpool.
Trent’s Football Philosophy: Why Attacking Is The Most Effective Defensive Strategy In Football
In the above two scenarios, who do you think would win a 90-minute fight between the two? Of course, the fighter with two swords will inflict more damage. The idea is to keep the opposition occupied with defense, so they do not have time or opportunity to launch an attack.
According to Liverpool’s official website, Trent Alexander-Arnold has already admitted that he likes to “go forward and help his team to create as many chances (to score) as possible.”
Simply put, that is his style of play, and every minute his team spends attacking is a minute less they have to worry about defending.
Also, what did Paolo Maldini think about tackles?
Judging a player merely by interceptions and tackles is a biased way of looking at the beautiful game – any player in a team that rarely concedes possession will naturally have lower figures. This is a proactive footballing style.
On the other hand, if your team defends a lot, or what we informally call “low-block” or “park-the-bus”, where a majority of your players often “sit” behind the ball, you will invite more attacks, and accordingly, you will have to make more blocks than necessary. This is a reactive footballing style.
The question is, which footballing philosophy suits Trent Alexander the most?
Jürgen Klopp’s “Heavy-Metal” Football Style
Also called “gegenpressing”, heavy-metal football entails one team bombarding the opponent with sustained attacks in the form of crosses or passes in dangerous areas.
And for the team to sustain its attacks, it must perfect the ability to move the ball forward quickly and smoothly (transitions) and press the opponent incessantly. The goal here is to win the ball as high up the pitch as possible.
Some sources say quick transitions mean moving the ball from your half to the opponent’s half and 18-yard box within 15 seconds or less.
You need high passing accuracy.
A player in this setup needs speed, general fitness, and high passing and crossing accuracy to succeed and help this team.
Pep Guardiola’s “Perfect” Footballing Style
Pep Guardiola’s football philosophy is focused on retaining 100% possession of the ball. Theoretically and mathematically speaking, the Spanish tactical genius is right: if your team can have 100% ball possession, it means you will not lose the game.
To maintain ball possession, a player must be good at passing, ball control, and speed for pressing to win the ball back as soon as their team loses it.
Arsène Wenger’s “Football Should Be An Art” Quote
Art is about expression, and football is also about expressing yourself, and the best expression is when the player has the ball – what he does with it and less of what he does without it. It’s difficult to call a player a “winner” because they defend a lot.
While talking about Arsène Wenger’s style of play, Jürgen Klopp said that “Wenger’s teams like to pass the ball and retain its possession more,” which is true.
Arsène Wenger is famous for saying he would rather win 4-3 than win 1-0, and I agree with the former Arsenal boss.
Which Philosophy Is The Best?
(Insert Picture 15): Dated April, 2025: Average Playing Position For Different Teams Vs their Press-Resistance
According to statistics from Opta and epl.com, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal were the teams that operated in the most advanced positions on the pitch.
They were also among the best teams on average in the EPL last season and had among the best defensive records in the league.
What’s Next for Trent Alexander-Arnold?
We will have to wait and see, but by and large, it seems Trent Alexander is perfect for Xabi Alonso’s style of play.
Fans cannot wait to see Trent Alexander-Arnold try to unlock the likes of Mbappé and Vinicius Junior with his deep-lying play and help them sustain attacks.
I say this because it is difficult to imagine a team of Real Madrid’s size didn’t understand Trent Alexander’s strengths (and weaknesses) and how he can be integrated into the team to help them win trophies.
Conclusion
All players have some form of weakness; you just have to look closely to find those weaknesses in them.
The most important thing for any elite coach is how your teams seem to employ a player’s strong skill sets to help the team win, and Trent Alexander has done that.
Klopp did that; Slot did the same last season, and Xabi Alonso and Thomas Tuchel must do the same if they are going to benefit from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s services.
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