Bradley or Alexander-Arnold – how would you use them?

Earlier, we asked the question of who should start as Liverpool‘s right-back.

After looking at the stats, your answer may depend on what you want the player in this role to do.

If you favour an attacking full-back, it comes as no surprise that Trent Alexander-Arnold is the more appealing option. His offensive numbers have been sublime for many seasons, and 2023-24 was no exception.

The 25 year-old is also a lot more involved in Liverpool’s general play when he’s on the pitch. He averaged 98 touches per match last season, which is only second to Jarrell Quansah in the squad. Connor Bradley is around the middle in the Liverpool squad with 79.3 touches per 90 mins last campaign.

If you want a more defensively solid full-back, then Bradley is no doubt the better option. Alexander-Arnold is often criticised for his defensive contribution, and his 34% success when tackling dribblers in particular may ring alarm bells for Arne Slot as he builds his first Liverpool squad.

Conor Bradley beats his counterpart in many of the defensive stats, including tackles won, tackle success rate, blocks made and aerial duel win percentage.

The 21 year-old also managed to go the whole season without making an ‘error’, which FBref define as a mistake which leads to a shot. Alexander-Arnold made five of these in 2023-24, the most in the squad. It is important to consider that Alexander-Arnold played a lot more matches than his understudy, but it’s still promising that someone as young as Bradley can be so reliable at the highest level.

Who do you want to be Liverpool’s future right-back? Is Bradley promising enough to de-throne Alexander-Arnold, or are the 25 year-old’s amazing offensive capabilities too hard to ignore? And, if Bradley gets your nod, does Alexander-Arnold become a midfielder?

Let us know here