"Imagine him playing for [Manchester] City?" - Liverpool star told he would have been an unbelievable player under Pep Guardiola
Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent has claimed that Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold would have been 'unbelievable' under manager Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
The England international played the full 90 minutes in the Reds' 1-0 (6-2 aggregate) loss against Real Madrid on 16 March. He was arguably slow to track Vinicius Junior's run inside the box, which directly led to Karim Benzema's goal in the return leg.
Alexander-Arnold is widely regarded as one of the best attacking right-backs in world football. The 24-year-old is already fourth on the list of defenders with the most assists in Premier League history (47).
However, his defensive abilities have been called into question several times by his team's fans, rivals and pundits alike. His teammate Andy Robertson recently came out to defend him and said that the criticism Alexander-Arnold gets is over the top and unwarranted.
Bent, meanwhile, has suggested that the English right-back could have been an even better player had he been at Manchester City. The former Aston Villa centre-forward said on TalkSPORT (h/t HITC):
"Imagine him playing for City? If Pep got hold of him, in that team, he would be unbelievable."
While the Reds have had ups and downs in recent seasons, Manchester City have been dominant domestically. They have won four league titles in the past five campaigns and are currently second in this season's table — five points behind Arsenal.
Both teams like to play attacking football but shrewd signings made on a consistent basis have helped keep the Cityzens at the pinnacle of English football in recent years. The Cityzens currently have Kyle Walker and Rico Lewis at right-back, with the former making the latest England squad over Alexander-Arnold.
Manchester City still alive in Europe while Liverpool suffer embarrassing elimination
Manchester City qualified for the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after beating RB Leipzig by a mammoth 7-0 (8-1 aggregate) scoreline on 14 March.
Liverpool, meanwhile, fell to another defeat against Real Madrid. They lost the second leg 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on 15 March after being thrashed 5-2 at Anfield in February.
The Cityzens have never won the UEFA Champions League but reached the final of the competition in 2020, only to lose to Chelsea. Liverpool have won the Champions League six times but have experienced a mammoth slump under manager Jurgen Klopp this term.
Liverpool have played in a European final four times since Klopp became the club's boss in November 2015, but have only won one of them.