Trent Alexander-Arnold has seen himself being compared to Manchester United hero David Beckham after his latest display for Liverpool.
The England full-back was once again a big influence as the Reds booked their place in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley with a 2-0 win over Arsenal on Thursday night.
Alexander-Arnold provided both assists for Diogo Jota as the Portuguese scored both Liverpool goals at the Emirates Stadium, with his second in particular getting the pundits purring.
The 23-year-old pinged the ball forward from the halfway line and brilliantly picked out the run of Jota, who beat the offside trap before lifting the ball over Aaron Ramsdale to send the visitors to Wembley, where they will face Chelsea in the final next month.
And Alexander-Arnold’s display brought back memories of some of Beckham’s special performances with United for former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson.
“He’s phenomenal. People say, ‘he can’t defend.’ Why do you have to defend when you go forward like he does?” Merson told Sky Sports.
“To put up the figures and the assists that he gets is just mind-blowing, absolutely mind-blowing. Some of the balls that he plays, the weight of pass - everything he picks out he composes himself, never panics.
“That ball was David Beckham. If you’d have just had a look at his feet there and nothing else, you’d of thought it was David Beckham.”
Fellow pundit Jamie Redknapp agreed, adding: “Trent Alexander-Arnold, what a player. We talk about how the game has evolved and how full-backs are now so influential - the positions he takes up, the passing ability.
“The second goal… the pass is Beckham-esque I’d say. He gets that little bit of space, he clips one in with a little bit of cut-fade on it onto Jota’s chest. Unbelievable performance from him.”
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