Is Trent Alexander-Arnold essential for FPL?

The new season of fantasy football is nearly upon us. With that in mind we take a look at a decision that is gripping the community. Is Trent Alexander-Arnold essential for FPL? We answer that right here whilst considering fixtures, stats, budget and more.

Liverpool seem to have gone under the radar in terms of investment as we edge closer to the start of the season. Whilst many within the community avoid the likes of Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) even more are questioning if Trent is essential for FPL.

Fixtures

Below we have sorted the fixture ticker in order of defensive difficulty. We can see that in the first six fixtures, compared with all teams in the league Liverpool rank fourth. They face Chelsea, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Wolves and West Ham.

The fixtures are very good for Liverpool according to the ticker and it also indicates that investing in the Liverpool defence at the start of the campaign a wise move.

The Liverpool defence

Last season the Reds were not as strong defensively when compared to previous seasons – they ranked:

Joint fourth best for goals conceded (47).
Seventh best for expected goals conceded (50.85).
Joint second best for clean sheets (14).
Fourth best for shots in the box conceded (272).
Eight best for shots on target conceded (157).
The third worst for big chances conceded (101).
The third best for attempts conceded from set-plays (92).

The data suggests that although Liverpool conceded the third most big chances in the league, they still had the ability to keep the second most clean sheets.

Trent’ offensive data

To gage how good a defensive asset is we have to take a look at their underlying attacking data. Last season amongst all defenders in the game Trent ranked:

Second best for attempts on goal (40).
Second best for crosses (252).
Second best for successful crosses (79).
Second best for chances created (71).
The best for big chances created (25).
The best for Opta assists (nine).

Although Trent may not convince in terms of goal threat, he still managed the second most attempts on goal. His distribution numbers were excellent last season and we can see that he came within the top two defenders for all of the key data points.

Comparing the price-point

Below we can see all of the best £8m or under assets in the game from last season. We can also notice that Trent comes ninth in the list and sits as the joint second highest scoring defender. In addition, when looking at the starting fixtures between all players below Trent has some of the best.

Trent’ position

There is some uncertainty around Trent’ position on the field. In the latter stages of last season he enjoyed some time at right-back and midfield. Below we can see that although Trent has been tested as a number 6, the plan is to try Trent at right-back again.

The signing of a defensive midfielder has become a priority for Liverpool during the transfer window with sources suggesting they are close to bringing in Romeo Lavia – this would then have an affect on Trent and ultimately how many clean sheets Liverpool keep.

Klopp on Alexander-Arnold in midfield: "We really thought it’s a very good idea for this pre season. He can play the position number 6, but now, we will try Trent as right back again and then we will see how we start the season.” pic.twitter.com/4OuocaWCnl
— Anfield Edition (@AnfieldEdition) July 29, 2023

Trent’ last five games

Since the end of last season Trent has featured in two matches for England and three for Liverpool. In those matches his position has changed from central midfield to right-back but he still managed to pick up three clean sheets, two assists and one goal – six returns in five matches. It is also really interesting that even in the number 6 role Trent still bagged an assist – reflecting his potential to return from anywhere on the pitch.

Other options

Trent’ hefty price-tag of £8m means that there are other defensive options available for much cheaper:

Ben Chilwell (£5.5m) – Chelsea start the campaign with better fixtures than Liverpool and Chilwell has had a very impressive pre-season.

John Stones (£5.5m) – Manchester City also have better fixtures to start the season than Liverpool, have better overall defensive data than the Reds and Stones is also playing in a midfield role.

Gabriel (£5m) – Arsenal rank first on the fixture at the start of the season. Gabriel also ranks amongst the top defenders for attempts on goal last season.

Pervis Estupinan £5m) – Brighton have good starting fixtures too and their most dangerous player in terms of non-penalty expected goal involvement.

Is Trent Alexander-Arnold essential for FPL?

When taking everything into account the answer is simply no. Although Trent has great starting fixtures and elite distribution ability, his price, position, other options available and Liverpool’ failure to sign a defensive midfielder as of yet is a concern.

Trent may be a good option to start the season with but he is certainly not essential.