“Absolutely not” – Darren Bent says Liverpool defender ‘is the worst’ when compared with two players from rival Premier League clubs
Former Tottenham Hotspur forward Darren Bent has rated Chelsea's Reece James and Manchester City's Kyle Walker above Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold. This is mainly down to Alexander-Arnold's poor defensive abilities.
Bent did state that the Liverpool full-back has some great offensive traits. This was validated last season when he provided 19 assists across all competitions.
However, the former Premier League forward believes that there are still many aspects at which James and Walker are better at, with defending being one of them.
Speaking on TalkSPORT (via The Mirror), Bent said the following:
“Trent Alexander-Arnold, my goodness! Wow. People will keep banging that drum saying he’s better than James and Walker. Absolutely not. Offensively, I’ll give it to him. His range of passing, his distribution… but when you think of his distribution, it’s not that much better than James."
Bent also pointed out that Manchester United players exploited Alexander-Arnold's defensive shortcomings during their 2-1 win over the Reds at Old Trafford on August 22:
“Then look what James can do to certain wide players. Look what he did to Heung-min Son. Out of them three, Alexander-Arnold is the worst. Last [Monday] night, it was almost like Man United picked on him. They picked on him down the left side."
Alexander-Arnold was beaten by Anthony Elanga on the right-hand side who then provided the assist for Manchester United's first goal against Liverpool. The England international was then too far up the pitch to come back and defend for United's second goal.
“Trent… my goodness.”
“Absolutely not. Out of them three, Trent is the worst.”😳 “Trent… my goodness.”
🥁 “People bang the drum that he’s better than Walker & James…”
❌ “Absolutely not. Out of them three, Trent is the worst.”
Darren Bent doesn’t hold back on his assessment of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s performance against Man Utd https://t.co/qhLQB2YZUy
It is worth mentioning that Liverpool do not have much cover in the right-back position. Joe Gomez can play as a makeshift right-back if necessary.
The Reds did sign Calvin Ramsay from Aberdeen in the summer transfer window. However, the Scotsman is still only 19 years old and is not deemed ready for the Premier League.
Trent Alexander-Arnold scored during Liverpool's Community Shield victory
Trent Alexander-Arnold, however, made a bright start to the 2022-23 season. The Englishman scored Liverpool's first goal during their 3-1 win against Manchester City in the FA Community Shield last month.
Having received a short pass from Mohamed Salah, Alexander-Arnold scored past goalkeeper Ederson from outside the box.
El gol de Alexander-Arnold para poner el parcial Liverpool 1 - Manchester City 0 en la Community Shield.
https://t.co/q8wf3tnzva
The Reds, however, have since struggled in the Premier League. They are currently 16th in the table, having amassed just two points from their first three league outings and are yet to win this season.