Wayne Rooney tells Alexander-Arnold where to improve to become the best full-back in the world

Former England captain Wayne Rooney has hailed Trent Alexander-Arnold’s technical gifts but insists the Real Madrid defender must sharpen the defensive side of his game to be recognised as the world’s premier full-back.

Alexander-Arnold, 27, swapped Liverpool for the Bernabéu on a free transfer last summer, although Madrid ultimately paid £8.4 million to secure his registration in time for the Club World Cup in the United States. What was meant to be a seamless fresh start has instead been punctuated by injury; a thigh problem sustained in December’s 3-0 league win at Athletic Club sidelined him for two months and restricted him to just 14 appearances across all competitions this season.

Tuesday night’s 1-0 Champions League play-off first-leg victory at Benfica marked only his second start since returning, and the right-back’s 76-minute display offered glimpses of his playmaking pedigree, taking his season assist tally to two in La Liga and Europe’s premier club competition combined.

Speaking ahead of the Lisbon encounter, Rooney pinpointed the area preventing Alexander-Arnold from claiming outright top spot among global full-backs.

“A lot of the teams will target down the sides in transition,” Rooney told the Standard. “He has to be good at defending. He has to be good at both sides of the game. On the ball, he’s one of the best in world football. Off the ball, defensively, that’s where he has to improve. That’s where the question marks are on Trent. If he improves that, there’s no doubt that he will be the best full-back in the world.”

The verdict from England’s all-time leading scorer underscores a familiar debate surrounding Alexander-Arnold: elite distribution and vision offset by sporadic vulnerabilities when tracking rapid counter-attacks. With Madrid holding a slender advantage ahead of the return leg and the business end of the season looming, the defender has ample stage time to address the critique and reinforce his claim to the throne Rooney believes is within reach.