Liverpool’s Alexander-Arnold is among football’s most polarising players, giving

LIVERPOOL, England — Trent Alexander-Arnold.

You only have to mention the Liverpool defender’s name to spark an avalanche of opinion about the strengths and weaknesses — and best position — of the world’s best right-back, or most overrated, depending on your point of view. And Liverpool’s 3-2 win against AC Milan in their Champions League group-stage opener was the night when he gave both sides all the proof they needed to support their argument.

Alexander-Arnold had some great moments, including a goalbound shot deflected off Fikayo Tomori for Liverpool’s opening goal, and he had some bad ones, when he switched off to enable Milan to score twice in quick succession before half-time. One minute he was tearing down the right, causing having for the Milan defenders, but the next he was sprinting to get back into position as the Italians repeatedly found space down their left with Alexander-Arnold chasing shadows behind them.

In many ways, it was fun to watch. Alexander-Arnold is such a supreme athlete that he was usually able to get back to where he needed to be, just in time. But at some point, he has to iron out the flaws that continue to give his many detractors the ammunition with which to criticise and call out his shortcomings.

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If we take Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi out of the equation, and the endless debate between the two football superstars’ ultra-loyal fan bases, it is a challenge to find any player who divides opinion quite as fiercely as the 22-year-old who is, without question, an absolutely crucial cog in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team. Alexander-Arnold is less important to England manager Gareth Southgate, who dropped the Champions League winner from his squad earlier this year and then deployed him in midfield during the recent World Cup qualifier against Andorra.

But the diametrically opposed positions taken by Klopp and Southgate perfectly sum up the debate about Alexander-Arnold. On the one hand, he is a marauding wing-back whose right-foot delivery is among the most potent in the world game, yet on the other, he is a defender who goes AWOL far too often for a player who primary role is to, well, defend.

There were at least six key moments in this pulsating Group B encounter that showcased the good and the bad of Alexander-Arnold.

In the positive side of the ledger, there was his ninth-minute burst into the Milan penalty and low shot, which looped over goalkeeper Mike Maignan for the first goal. Then there was the copyright Alexander-Arnold cross from which Joel Matip headed straight into Maignan’s hands.

In the second half, he delivered a near-post corner, poorly headed away by Ismael Bennacer, that led to Jordan Henderson’s winning goal for Liverpool. Alexander-Arnold also had a 20-yard volley saved, and he started the move from which Mohamed Salah — who had a first-half penalty saved — made it 2-2 early in the second half.

But on the flip side, both Milan goals came from Alexander-Arnold’s area of the pitch. With the first, he lost Ante Rebic, giving the Croatia forward…