Phil Thompson directly compared Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold with his Tottenham rival Kieran Trippier when creating a combined XI made up of both teams.
The Sky Sports pundit named the best possible line-up he thinks could be made by having both the Reds’ and Spurs’ squads to call upon and found himself comparing several players in the process.
Thompson opted to chose Trippier for his team ahead of Alexander-Arnold, revealing that the Spurs right-back’s excellent delivery gave him the edge.
“At right-back you’ve got a very interesting one, with two very talented attacking players, who perhaps are better going forward than defending,” wrote the pundit for Sky Sports.
“With his excellent delivery, I’m just edging toward Kieran Trippier rather than Trent Alexander-Arnold.”
OPINION
Thompson ended up with a fairly balanced team when it came to both clubs being represented as he selected five Spurs players and six Reds players to form his ideal starting eleven. Yet one of the Liverpool players to be left out was Alexander-Arnold, who has established himself as an important member of Jurgen Klopp’s first team. The 19-year-old, who earns £40,000-a-week at Anfield (Source: The Sun), has to compete with Trippier for a starting place at right-back for England so will no doubt get used to being compared to him. It’s understandable why Thompson has given a clear edge to the Tottenham defender at this time as his set-pieces and crossing ability make him a stronger threat going forward compared to the Reds teenager. However when you consider that Trippier is more of the finished article as he’s 27-years-old than it easy to imagine that one day Alexander-Arnold could leapfrog the Spurs defender in Thompson’s eyes as he continues to develop his game.
