Danny Mills heaped praise on Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold and compared him to fellow England right-back Kieran Trippier.
The Sky Sports pundit raved about how good the Reds full-back was going forward, though admitted due to him surging forward that he did have a tendency to get caught out of position at times.
Mills then added that he thought there wasn’t much difference between Trippier and Alexander-Arnold and acknowledged that England manager Gareth Southgate was spoilt for choice when it comes to right-backs.
“Again there’s not a lot between the two, Trent Alexander-Arnold we know going forward is exceptional, he still has a little bit to learn,” said Mills on Football Centre (Sky Sports News, 11:06am, Monday October 14th).
“Going forward he is outstanding but occasionally because of that he is caught out positionally at times, but you’ve got three outstanding right-backs (England), Kyle Walker can’t get in the squad.
“Wan-Bissaka is coming through so four fabulous right-backs to choose from, so he (Gareth Southgate) is spoilt for choice but between Trippier and Alexander-Arnold there isn’t a huge difference between them.”
OPINION
Mills acknowledged Alexander-Arnold’s shortcomings, the fact he can be defensively vulnerable at times, but that didn’t stop him praising him. When you consider just how good the Reds defender is going forward, he has registered three assists and scored one goal in his first 12 appearances of the season, and the fact he is still only 21-years-old, it’s no surprise Mills is willing to overlook the weaknesses in Alexander-Arnold’s game. After all, he still has plenty of time to improve and likely will given that he is playing international football as well as featuring in prestigious competitions such as the Champions League where he gets pitted against Europe’s best players. Also when you consider that Mills believes there isn’t much difference between Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier, it only further highlights his talents. After all, while Trippier did struggle at Tottenham last season, he won only 55% of his tackles and made two errors which led to goals across his 27 league outings (Source: Premier League), he has nine-years on Alexander-Arnold so hypothetically should have an edge due to his experience, but that isn’t the case in Mills’ eyes.
