Comparing James, Alexander-Arnold and Cancelo’s PL stats in 2021-22

Quick Reads

Trent Alexander Arnold of Liverpool and Joao Cancelo of Manchester City

Planet Football
28th November 2021

The Premier League’s roster of right-backs has arguably never seen such quality throughout the division.

As managers put more and more importance on full-backs being well-rounded and providing an additional attacking threat, most teams seem to have top-class full-backs.

Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo, Chelsea’s Reece James and Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold have formed a competitive rivalry with each other, and every week at least one of them produces something special. The three are arguably the top three right-backs in the world and have been performing to ridiculous levels domestically and in Europe.

They are not only cornerstone figures of the three best defences in the league, but play crucial roles in their team’s attacking play, often taking set-pieces and finding space inside the opposition box as an additional goal threat.

We’ve compared their Premier League stats in 2021-22 to see who comes out on top.

Goals
Reece James – 4
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 1
Joao Cancelo – 0

Assists
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7
Reece James – 4
Joao Cancelo – 3

Can't get enough of this assist from João Cancelo 🤤

(via @ManCity)pic.twitter.com/WrlKPJMKmB

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) November 22, 2021

Shots per 90 minutes
Joao Cancelo – 2.3
Reece James – 2
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 1.9

Dribbles (success rate)
Reece James – 1.5 (75%)
Joao Cancelo – 1.2 (52.2%)
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 1.1 (36.4%)

Fouls won per 90 minutes
Reece James – 1.5
Joao Cancelo – 0.3
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 0.3

READ: ‘Best RB in the country’: Nine quotes about Reece James’ stunning form

Passes per 90 minutes
Joao Cancelo – 81.2
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 70.5
Reece James – 56.7

Chances created per 90 minutes
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 3.4
Reece James – 2.8
Joao Cancelo – 1

Tackles per 90 minutes (success rate)
Joao Cancelo – 2.1 (68%)
Reece James – 1.8 (72%)
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 1.4 (56%)

40 – Trent Alexander-Arnold's assist for Virgil van Dijk was his 40th in the Premier League – only Wayne Rooney (22y 200d) and Cesc Fàbregas (21y 188d) have reached 40 Premier League assists at a younger age (23y 51d). Naughty. #LIVSOU

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 27, 2021