The Liverpool defender has played against the best in the world
Jurgen Klopp took a risk throwing Trent Alexander-Arnold in the deep end after Nathaniel Clyne suffered a long-term injury, but he floated, making the right-back slot at Liverpool his own.
At just 19 years of age, he has already played at a World Cup and in a Champions League final, coming up against some of the best attackers in the world along the way.
He was tasked with the difficult challenge of silencing Cristiano Ronaldo in last season’s Champions League final, and more recently came up against Neymar in Liverpool’s group stage match against Paris Saint-Germain. But neither of them made for his toughest one on one battle.
Speaking to The Times, Alexander-Arnold revealed that he found it more difficult to play against Wilfried Zaha than either of the aforementioned Champions League winners.
“On the day, I’d say Zaha was the hardest. Just his athleticism. You can’t get the ball off him, hard to tackle, fast, skilful, can score goals, set them up, a match-winner,” he said.
“With Neymar and Ronaldo, you can see they are very intelligent players, people who know their trade, different movements, but they never got much of the ball against us.
“Obviously Zaha is not at a level of Ronaldo and Neymar, but for me on the day Zaha was probably the hardest.”
Alexander-Arnold did manage to keep Zaha relatively quiet when the players came up against each other this season, as Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Selhurst Park.
The Liverpool born defender has been a revelation for Liverpool, showing maturity beyond his years to step into a side who are hunting trophies, offering an attacking threat without neglecting his defensive duties.
His performances last season earned him an international call-up for the 2018 World Cup, in which he made two appearances. With Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker to compete with, it’s no shock that he hasn’t broken into the first team with England. But judging by his progress thus far, don’t rule it out.
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