Trent Alexander-Arnold has plenty of experience playing against Manchester City.
In fact, the Liverpool defender has only played against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur (16) on more occasions than Pep Guardiola’s side (15) throughout his career.
Back in April, Alexander-Arnold shared his verdict on City by saying that no other side can break down a team with passes like they can.
As well as that, the right-back knows what it’s like to play alongside some of the key players from City’s squad on the international stage.
His most recent international appearance in England’s 2-1 defeat to Greece in the Nations League saw the defender feature alongside three City players.
After the match, a pundit and former City star claimed that Alexander-Arnold was actually trying to copy one of the three current City players on the pitch in Thursday’s clash.
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Micah Richards says Trent Alexander-Arnold was trying to copy Rico Lewis for England
While reflecting on the Three Lions’ defeat at Wembley Stadium, Micah Richards gave this assessment about Rico Lewis and Alexander-Arnold in a recent edition of The Rest Is Football.
He said: “I think Rico Lewis was playing really well with them intricate passes in midfield, but they both want to do the same thing.
“So Rico Lewis wants to come into midfield, and so does Trent as well, and they overloaded in the midfield, but they both want to do stuff on the ball, not off the ball.
“So even just being alert to a counterattack, if you’re going to be in there, you’ve got to make sure you’re ready for that counterattack.
“And we know Trent is not the best at defending, but he can defend from the middle without having to be squared up one-on-one on the wings. I just think it’s a process for them learning.”
How did Lewis perform against Greece?
Prior to this latest international break, Lewis overtook Marcus Rashford’s total of Champions League assists, by making the pass to set Erling Haaland up to score City’s third goal in their 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava.
Completing the full 90 minutes in the left-back position, Lewis found himself popping up in numerous areas across the pitch.
With 73 touches of the ball in total, the 19-year-old accurately completed 45 of the 50 passes he attempted, leaving him with an overall passing accuracy percentage of 90%.
In comparison, even though he lost possession on more occasions than Lewis (22 vs 10), Alexander-Arnold was able to make four key passes in the game, whereas Lewis didn’t make one.
Lewis wasn’t the only City player who had some trouble trying to gel with one of their Three Lions teammates against Greece, as Paul Robinson claimed that Jude Bellingham was getting in Phil Foden’s way throughout the match.
Now that Richards has highlighted how England suffered defensively from seeing Alexander-Arnold trying to do what Lewis was in midfielder, this is something Lee Carsley will have to work on going forward.
