The debate of who among Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold is England’s, and perhaps the world’s best right-back at moment has already kicked-in. The two have been in scintillating forms for their respective clubs, as they were on the score-sheets as well in the Champions league. James enjoyed a brilliant night with Chelsea in their 3-0 win over AC Milan, scoring one and creating one, whereas Alexander-Arnold struck a beautiful free-kick in Liverpool’s triumph over Rangers.
However, the Liverpool right-back’s defensive flaws have been the highlight of his season so far, where he has conceded 4 errors leading to goals in 10 already. He was completely left out of action as a result by Gareth Southgate from England’s Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany, raising questions over his selection for the World Cup. Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has how weighed in on the Reece James-Trent Alexander-Arnold debate, by claiming the Chelsea wing-back is superior to his Liverpool counterpart.
Ferdinand points to defensive advantage of Reece James which Alexander-Arnold lacks
Trent Alexander-Arnold has never disappointed in the attacking part of the game, contributing 62 assists in 237 games for the Reds so far. His crossing has been even compared to David Beckham, but defending to that of a ‘Championship’ player. His errors have been costly for Liverpool, where they had to settle in for a draw as well as face 2 shocking defeats. While Jurgen Klopp may have time and time again defended his his boy, the right-back has done only little to improve the defensive aspect of his game.
On the other hand, Reece James is flourishing as usual in his Chelsea team. The right-back scored a goal against Mila, assisted another and also created 2 chances. However, Ferdinand was rather impressed by the 22-year-old’s defensive contribution where he was up against one of Europe’s most in-form wingers Rafael Leao. James ended the game with 2 dribbles, 8 duels won and a whopping 12 ball recoveries to further help his team earn a clean-sheet. Ferdinand, while speaking to BT Sport pin-pointed James’ these qualities and explained:
“On the ball, I believe he [Reece James] is as good as Trent, but defensively he is up to the task in one-on-one situations. That’s the difference between them right now. It’s a great subplot for the Premier League. The best players have rivalries and they will push each other.
“In my eyes Reece is leading the way now, but Trent will get out of this ban and that could change. He took on [Rafael] Leao, and if he didn’t know, Reece James knew after 10 minutes he was in for a rough night.
“I was here yelling, James looks at him and leaves early. Then he worries. But in the second half he decided he was going to be aggressive, didn’t leave Leao behind, took the ball, and then Leao knew he was going to fight. He also said I’ll defend you, but I’m going the other way too.”
Perhaps Ferdinand’s analysis is the most accurate one looking at the current scenario. Alexander-Arnold’s defensive liabilities are cannot be overlooked for his brilliant attacking exploits. Southgate did the same and didn’t hand in the right-back a single minute in the Three Lions’ Nations League fixtures despite naming him on the roster.
Many have claimed that this could the final warning by the England boss to the 23-year-old to rectify his short-comings before the global showdown next month. Southgate will be releasing the list of the 26 players who will be travelling to Qatar later this month, and he has no shortage of options in the right-back department with James, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker-Peters already proving their mettle.