Maybe it's because left-sided players are inherently rarer. Or that a very good left-sided player is an even greater rarity. But the hot commodity of a top-class left-back has long weld itself as a lynchpin in winning sides, and this Premier League season has revelled in a number of left-backs performing a cut above their peers.
In the fourth instalment of our ‘Best of 2021/22’ series, football fans vote for their top-performing left-back of the season.
In last week’s centre-back edition, voters selected an impervious combination of Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger, the latter only just pipping Manchester City's Ruben Dias.
The selection means that of the XI's current four players so far, three wear the Liverpool colours.
Vote for your left back of the season below.
Andy Robertson:
Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold regularly dish out lethal performances and, this season, the Scotland captain has only enhanced that reputation as Liverpool vie for an unprecedented quadruple.
In 22 league appearances, Robertson has provided 10 assists, the league’s second highest only behind Alexander Arnold at 11. The full-back’s tenacious spirit, pace and awareness has guaranteed 12 clean sheets, with only 16 goals conceded and a daunting tally of clearances, interceptions and recoveries.
His dual defensive and offensive work rate was epitomised recently whilst marking a typically devastating Bukaya Saka and teeing up Roberto Firmino for a crucial goal.
Tyrick Mitchell:
An ever-present linchpin in manager Patrick Viera’s Crystal Palace, the attacking full-back has played 29 league matches and provided a seemingly indefatigable work rate on and off the ball to succour the south London club’s surprising success story.
The 22-year-old boasts two assists, 200 league recoveries and a tackle success rate of over 50 percent for 90 tackles levied. His unflappable maturity, timing and discipline have cut him an impervious nightmare for even the most brutally seasoned attacks. That ability to shut down big plays while inspiring counters was on full display in Palace’s ferocious 0-0 draw with Manchester City.
After becoming Palace's youngest Premier League goalscorer for 23 years last season, Mitchell has not wobbled in his trajectory. The fact he was so vociferously touted for a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s recent England squad is testament to that. Definitely watch this space.
Joao Cancelo:
A cunning, versatile attack-minded player with the awareness of a seasoned defender, it is no surprise that the Portuguese full-back is relishing another masterful season in Pep Guardiola’s title-challenging side.
In 27 league appearances, Cancelo has provided five assists and a goal and leads the league in number of passes. His 60 shots is the most by any defender by a country mile and typifies the 27-year-old’s imperturbable confidence on the ball both in front of goal and to spray passes and routinely spread opposition defences.
Guardiola has come to rely heavily on Cancelo’s positive fearlessness in and out of possession, and rightfully bemoaned the man’s recent absence to injury.
Kieran Tierney:
Arsenal ’s fierce fight for a fourth-placed finish to bring back the long-lost lustre of Champions League football cannot be mentioned without the consistently impressive displays from the 24-year-old.
In 22 appearances, the Scottish international has provided three assists and a goal and helped to seal his side with five away victories on the bounce before the international break. Tierney has long embodied his side’s resilience and tenacity, putting in mature shifts up and down the left flank from a variety of positions - left side of a back three, full back in a four or wing back.
Scotland manager Steve Clark stated earlier this year that Tierney "always felt" he was better than Liverpool's Robertson. A thrilling left-back rivalry indeed.
Lucas Digne:
The Frenchman’s forced switch from Everton to Aston Villa in January was an emotional ride for all involved, not least due to the left-back’s elite quality and Everton’s recent on-pitch turmoil.
At Villa, Digne has flourished with his new lease of life and provided a significant upgrade to former Villa left-back Matt Targett. Dangerous from long range, Digne’s crosses have provided a number of chances, and he has performed more consistently in defence since accruing consistent game time.
A recent injury in Villa’s 2-1 loss to West Ham side-lined the 28-year-old for the first time since his January arrival, but his call-up to the Didier Deschamp’s France squad is potentially fortuitous news.
Sergio Reguilon:
A player coveted by a bevy of big name suitors, Sergio Reguilon has continuously injected Antonio Conte’s side with pace and venom from his left wing-back berth and proved to be a thorny nuisance in the side of a number of opposition defences.
The 25-year-old has made 22 appearances this season whilst providing two goals and three assists, including two game-winning contributions. His creativity on the ball has become a recurring theme in Conte’s counter attacking side, but the Spanish international’s ability to track back and put in the gritty defensive work has come routinely clutch.
Marcos Alonso:
Despite an icing out for most of last season, the 31-year-old Spaniard has heralded in pivotal and mature performances for the Blues up and down the left flank this season after first choice left-back Ben Chilwell suffered a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury that has side-lined him since November.
In his 19 league appearances, Alonso has scored a goal and supplied three assists to his side whilst continuing to be a nasty attacking thorn in opposition sides from his wing-back berth. A ostensible certain to leave the club at the end of last season, Alonso has relished something of a renaissance since capitalising on his opportunity to show his worth in the Chelsea contingent once more.
Aaron Cresswell:
Since 2014, the West Ham man has put in dogged shifts, and his 250-plus appearances for the club say as much. This season the 32-year-old has only underlined the importance his quality brings to David Moyes’ punching side.
In 22 league appearances, Cresswell boasts one goal and three assists, ranking amongst the top five in assists via set plays. Recent injuries have come to haunt, but the West Ham man’s quality on and off the ball have come full display in moments when Moyes’ side need it most.
