Stats and tactics comparison – Kyle Walker and Trent Alexander-Arnold
Liverpool are expected to challenge defending champions Manchester City for the Premier League title this season. Both clubs have England right-backs of varying age but with similar ambitions – Kyle Walker and Trent Alexander-Arnold. While the former is 28 and going through his best phase as a player, the latter is only 19 and is showing signs of becoming a special talent in English football.
Walker at Tottenham was a very adventurous right-back, who loved to bomb forward at every given opportunity and make those recovery runs to cover the ground defensively. For his impressive transition, City manager Pep Guardiola bought him last summer. Since then, the 28-year-old has taken his game to another level.
His passing has improved a lot, which enabled him to play as a right-sided centre-back for England in the World Cup. Now at the Etihad, he has switched his role from playing as an inside channel full-back to an adventurous right-back.
Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold was a midfield player in the Liverpool academy, but he had defensive qualities along with pace on the wing to become a top-class full-back. He broke through the first-team last season when Jurgen Klopp kept faith in him after the injury to Nathaniel Clyne.
The 19-year-old is somewhat similar to what Walker was in his young days – an adventurous right-back who moves forward at every given opportunity and has a good defensive awareness to make recovery runs.
Here’s a comparison of the two players with stats and tactics:
Stats and tactics comparison – Walker and Trent Alexander-Arnold
It will be unfair to compare their stats of this season, as it is just the early phase of the season. So, let’s peruse their numbers from last year on an average basis. Walker had a passing accuracy of 87.8%, while Trent possessed an accuracy of 77.3%.
In terms of delivering key passes to create goalscoring opportunities, the former has an average of 0.9, which is a little lesser than the latter, who has a rate of 1.3 per game. For a full-back, making recovery runs is very important. Walker was successful in making 5.4 ball recoveries per game, while Trent did it at an average of 7.
In terms of tactics, its been quite different for both the players. Walker is more of an inside channel right-back who is flexible with his forward movements. As for Trent, with Mohamed Salah tucking inside, Klopp needs him to provide the width on the right.
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Verdict
Both players have done exceptionally well since the start of last season. They are expected to face off in a potential title battle this season. This is an exciting prospect for the fans.
Stats Courtesy – Whoscored.com (Walker and Trent)