Where does Trent Alexander-Arnold rank alongside all-time greats?

While it is looking increasingly certain that Trent Alexander-Arnold will depart for Spanish giants Real Madrid, where does he rank amongst the all-time Premier League greats?

Trent rapidly rose through Liverpool’s academy, joining at just six years old before making his full debut in 2016, aged 18.

He quickly became a well-loved part of Jürgen Klopp’s squad, a homegrown talent with enviable attacking prowess.

It is no doubt that if he does join Madrid in the summer, he will go down as one of, if not the best, attacking defender the league has ever seen.

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Real Madrid. 🔛 pic.twitter.com/8YMmNnS3KB

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 25, 2025

However, is his defensive quality preventing him from taking the title as the Premier League’s greatest ever right-back?

An attacking marvel

Since the 2017/18 season, no defender in Europe’s top five leagues has made more assists or created more chances than the 26 year-old.

His pace and precision has reimagined the right-back role, showing the significant impact they can have up front.

His time at the Liverpool academy, firstly as a midfielder, will have influenced his forward play.

While also boasting the best defender assist record in Europe, he also holds the title of the defender with the most assists in the Premier League.

The attacking duality of both Alexander-Arnold and his fellow Liverpool compatriot, Andy Robertson, is an indication of the position’s evolution.

Thanks to modern tactics, particularly from Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, defenders are now expected to undertake a far more present role.

A lot more emphasis has been put on their forward play and cannot just rely on sitting back and waiting for a counter-attack.

Trent dominates the attacking statistics of the Premier League era, but it is important to remember that the league has seen a drastic shift in playing style in the past few years.

Gary Neville was at his prime in the early 2000s, when the league was far more binary and still rooted in traditional player roles.

Their role was far more conservative in terms of attacking contribution.

Branislav Ivanovic and Pablo Zabaleta played during a transitionary time of the competition, which can be shown by their solid attacking record. Considerably ahead of Neville, but still languishing behind Alexander-Arnold and Walker.

Kyle Walker is the most comparable defender to Trent; both were part of teams that revolutionised the league, while also winning several major accolades.

Their stats show the reimagined role of a modern day Premier League fullback, with Trent yet again coming out on top.

However, he has faced extensive scrutiny over his defensive capabilities.

A defensive liability?

Even though defenders are now required to have a greater attacking contribution, they still must be solid defensively.

In comparison to his attacking numbers, Trent’s defensive attributes are considerably weaker.

He boasts the lowest tackle success rate out of the five chosen defenders and has especially struggled during 1v1 encounters.

No Premier League player has been dribbled past more this season than Trent (53).

This was particularly clear during Liverpool’s latest encounter against Manchester City in February.

Despite the reds’ claiming a 2-0 win, Trent had a torrid time against City’s winger, Jeremy Doku.

The Belgian dribbled past Trent 12 times, later telling the press he “passed him a lot of times.”

It demonstrated Trent’s vulnerabilities during 1v1s, despite excelling at them at the other end of the pitch.

It would be unfair to label Trent as unable to defend, but his attacking excellence has raised the standards he is levied with, therefore making his defensive ability look significantly sub-par.

Following Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United in January, former Manchester United captain, Roy Keane, said:

“His defending has been schoolboy stuff. He’s got to do better.

“They’re talking about him going to Real Madrid. The way he’s defending he’s going to Tranmere Rovers after this.”

@skysports

“Talk about him going to Real Madrid? He’s going to Tranmere Rovers the way he’s defending!” 😡 Roy Keane NOT holding back on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defending in the first half… 😳 #premierleague #Liverpool #manchesterunited

♬ original sound – Sky Sports – Sky Sports

While his defensive game certainly needs to improve, this should not take away from the fact that he has reimagined the right-back role.

If he does make the move to La Liga, he should rightly be remembered as one of the most influential full-backs the league has ever seen, but his defensive inadequacies ultimately prevent him from being the greatest in Premier League history.

(Featured image from Alamy under licence agreement)