Former Aston Villa striker Darren Bent has revealed that he will always pick Reece James ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold despite the Liverpool man’s offensive ability.
The question of whether Reece James or Trent Alexander-Arnold should be the first choice right back for England had raged on for some time now with the World Cup just around the corner. The England National is spoiled for choice in the right-back position.
England currently has four players in right back position. The likes of Kyle Walker, Reece James, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Kieran Trippier are all fighting for the same position. All the aforementioned players are regular starters for their respective clubs.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is known for his offensive qualities, passing accuracy, and set-piece abilities. But something mostly criticized him for his weak defensive ability.
However, despite his great offensive ability, Darren Bent believes Reece James is a complete player.
Who does Darren Bent thinks is better between Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold?
Former England and Aston Villa striker told Talksport, saying: “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.
“Then look what James can do to certain wide players. Look what he did to Heung-Min Son.
“Out of the three, Alexander-Arnold is the worst.
“Last night, it was almost like Man United picked on him. They picked on him down the left side.”
Scottish Icon Dean Saunders believes teams are now targeting Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defensive weakness.
Trent’s poor defensive awareness was clear in Liverpool’s defeat in the Champions League final against Real Madrid as the England international failed to mark Vinicius Jr at the near post.
The same problem has been clear in Liverpool‘s first three Premier League games this season. The England international struggled against Elanga, Rashford, and Sancho in their defeat against Manchester United.
The former Liverpool icon added: “Trent, I don’t know, for the first goal, he gets one-two’d. Don’t get me wrong, going forward [he’s] world-class, but defensively he’s getting found out. Aleksandar Mitrovic came over the top of him at Fulham.
“Vinicius Jr. in the Champions League final does him at the back post. He gave the ball away for the goal against Palace and last night, he jogs out to Elanga. He gets one-two’d and then walks, comes to Sancho in the box.
“Virgil van Dijk should have gone out and closed the ball down so it’s partly his fault as well, but if Trent keeps running, he gets his foot in when he chops back inside.
“The second goal, he hits a diagonal into the box, loses it and he doesn’t sprint back. [Marcus Rashford] looked at me offside, by the way, but it wasn’t given. They left Gomez in the channel stranded.”
Gareth Southgate has a tough choice to make on who should be his first pick for the World Cup.
