Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has named Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha as the toughest player he’s faced in his career.
The young right back has faced a multitude of top talents throughout his young career, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Leroy Sane, but Alexander-Arnold feels the 5ft 10in Zaha [Source: Transfermarkt] was his toughest test.
“On the day, I’d say Zaha was the hardest [opponent],” he said in The Times [October 20, Sport section page 7]. “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.
“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.”
OPINION
This is surprising on the surface when you consider some of the top players Alexander-Arnold has faced so far this season, but when you look at how good Zaha can be on his day it is more understandable. The Palace talisman is simply unplayable when he is really at it, something that has been demonstrated many times already this season. Ronaldo’s role has changed somewhat in recent years. He’s more of a poacher, meaning that he’s not going to be a nightmare for full backs like he was earlier in his career. Neymar, too, floats around a few different positions and usually doesn’t focus his attack fully on one opposition player. In that respect Zaha probably is as tough a test as any for a young full back. His pace and trickery doubtless give right backs serious headaches, while his end product has improved immensely in recent years, meaning the consequences of not winning the ball off him are now much more severe than they used to be.
