Alexander-Arnold vs Cancelo: Comparing the prime PL stats of Liverpool and Man City stars

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joao Cancelo are two of the best full-backs in the world.

Like, seriously, the Liverpool and Manchester City ballers have practically reinvented what it means to play on the defensive flank with their myriad attacking talents making them absolutely box office to watch.

Yes, we’re well aware that Alexander-Arnold is going through a tough time with the defensive side of his game, but he nevertheless endures as one of the Premier League‘s finest ever right-backs.

At the end of the day, with the exception of the last few months and the middle section of the 2020/21 campaign, the Liverpool star has been far more watertight on the back foot than most fans will give him credit for.

Besides, his very best seasons in the famous red jersey haven't just been so special because of his dizzying assist tallies, but also because of his defensive solidity too alongside the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Andrew Robertson.

In fact, there's good reason to think that Alexander-Arnold in his prime might just mark the highest heights that any Premier League full-back has ever reached.

And to test that theory, we've decided to put Alexander-Arnold's greatest ever Premier League campaign up against the high watermark of the aforementioned Cancelo to see what happens.

'But why Cancelo?' we hear you ask.

Well, we could have compared Alexander-Arnold to the most popular pick for the greatest right-back in Premier League history, Gary Neville, but there are two key complicating factors that made us look elsewhere.

Firstly, the same level of data coverage on the Premier League's official player comparison tool isn't available prior to the 2006/07 season and therefore Neville's prime, but also, the simple fact of the matter