Barcelona fullback Dani Alves has reserved special praise for Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold after being asked to name the best right-backs in the world.
The Brazilian referenced Alexander-Arnold, along with Chelsea’s Reece James and Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi, among the players he most admires who play in his position:
“I admire Trent Alexander-Arnold very much. He’s a fantastic footballer – this guy has got world-class skills. I also like to watch Reece James and Achraf Hakimi. They mix strength with technique and are also great players. The three of them obviously have different characteristics and styles, but they all know how to do the job.”
It’s certainly a ringing endorsement from Alves whose legendary career has seen him win 43 major trophies. Alexander-Arnold is, undoubtedly a world-class footballer but some still question his ability to play as a fullback.
Many pundits, including Gary Neville, were critical of his performance against Arsenal earlier this month, when Gabriel Martinelli got the beating of him on a number of occasions.
However, Reds’ boss Jurgen Klopp praised Alexander-Arnold after the game and he even said that if he heard anyone criticizing the 23-year-old for his defensive deficiencies again he would “knock them down”.
Whatever the case may be, it seems Alexander-Arnold does have another big fan in Alves, who certainly knows a thing or two about being a right-back.
