Such is the depth of quality players to have strutted their stuff in the Premier League, it has become increasingly difficult to piece together an all-time greatest XI.
One position which may divide opinion in these conversations is right-back, with a number of talented players able to stake a claim for this berth in the Premier League era.
Two candidates likely to be at the top of most shortlists are two of the most talked about players in England at the moment, with Kyle Walker on the brink of exiting the Premier League and Trent Alexander-Arnold possibly primed to follow suit come the summer.
The bet365 News team have their say on the identity of the greatest right-back to have ever played in the Premier League.
Forget his self-deprecation and the downplaying of his abilities, Gary Neville was a top-class defender in his day, going on to become England’s most-capped right-back at the time.
While Neville might not have been the most naturally gifted footballer, he squeezed every ounce of the talent he did have through an unrelenting grit and determination. He didn’t have Trent Alexander-Arnold’s playmaking abilities, nor Kyle Walker’s raw athleticism, but he had a more complete game than both with no real weaknesses.
Sir Alex Ferguson had extremely high standards of his centre-backs, employing the likes of Paul McGrath, Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Jaap Stam, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, and once said that if the 5ft 10in Neville was an inch taller, he’d be the greatest centre-back in Britain, later proclaiming him to be the best English right-back of his generation.
Neville didn’t have to rely on blistering recovery pace to keep him out of trouble; his positional awareness was usually enough to keep his opposite number at bay, while he was also a ferocious tackler, making any winger think twice about going past him.
Neville was also a threat going forward. His constant marauding runs up the right flank often created space for David Beckham to swing in his trademark crosses, while Neville was more than capable of sending dangerous balls in on the overlap.
The Three Lions’ first-choice right-back for a decade, Neville would appear at six consecutive major tournaments between 1996 and 2006, and while PFA Team of the Year mentions can be taken with a pinch of salt, he was given the nod there five times, as well as winning the Premier League eight times, the FA Cup three times, and of course the Treble in 1999.
If you were to ask any winger in world football which right-back they would least like to face in their prime between Gary Neville, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker, the verdict would almost certainly fall unanimously in favour of the Manchester City legend.
Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr, arguably the best footballer on the planet at present, would certainly lean this way, once outlining Walker as the ‘best defender he has ever faced’.
Put simply, Kyle Walker in his pomp was an absolute nightmare for opposition forwards to come up against.
One of the fastest defenders in Premier League history, it became apparent early on in Walker’s career that on the rare occasion he was beaten one-v-one, his incredible recovery pace would ensure his opposite number would be forced to try and beat him again.
If Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are to be considered the Premier League’s greatest ever team, with their four successive title wins between 2021 and 2024 a record, then it seems hard to argue against Walker as the number one right-back in the competition’s history.
Very seldom outside of Guardiola’s preferred starting XI, Walker’s importance to a City side which scooped a historic Treble in 2023 was underlined by the Catalan’s decision to name the right-back as club captain following the departure of Ilkay Gundogan to Barcelona.
All in all, Walker ought to be recognised as the complete right-back.
Not only a dominant defender, whose prowess in this area prompted England to often utilise him as a third centre-back across his 93 caps to date, the City stalwart could also not have thrived within Guardiola’s winning machine at the Etihad were he not also an exceptionally technically accomplished operator.
Jamie Carragher once proclaimed, “No one wants to be a full-back as a kid”, though it’s fair to say this perception may have changed since Trent Alexander-Arnold’s unrivalled technical ability has engrossed Premier League watchers.
To put it simply, Alexander-Arnold has revolutionised the role of a right-back since his breakthrough in the 2016/17 season.
Flaws exist in Alexander-Arnold’s game, but the common suggestion that the Liverpudlian can’t defend is a misconception, and one that can be proved by Liverpool’s respective Premier League and Champions League winning campaigns with him at right-back.
His suggested imperfections as a defender are comfortably outweighed by the ability that Alexander-Arnold possesses on the ball.
To compare his passing expertise to other full-backs would be unjust, with his ability to put the ball on a sixpence only comparable to some of the Premier League’s greatest ever midfielders.
The demands of a full-back have changed in recent years, with their attacking threat almost regarded as significant as their ability to defend.
Alexander-Arnold leads the way with the most assists as a full-back in Premier League history, almost doubling Kyle Walker and Gary Neville’s tally.
In 2020, Neville himself stated, “I’ve not seen something like him since Cafu. The quality he produces is out of this world.”
Alexander-Arnold’s phenomenal technical ability hasn’t just impressed former right-back Gary Neville, with Real Madrid set to tempt him with a contract offer that if accepted would see the boyhood Liverpool fan move to the Spanish capital.
Whether he decides to join Los Blancos or stay put and cement his legacy at Liverpool, it’s hard to believe that we will see a right-back like Trent Alexander-Arnold in the Premier League again.