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            <p>Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold is an £8.0m defender in FPL this year - but is he worth his price tag?</p>
<p>We explore the pros and cons of owning the full-back using Fantasy Football Hub's toolbox, including <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta">Opta stats</a> and <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/my-team/wildcard">AI</a>.</p>
<p>We'll also take a look at how Liverpool have been performing in pre-season and analyse Alexander-Arnold's role in Jurgen Klopp's team, with his position perhaps key to unlocking whether he is good value for money.</p>
<p>See our <strong><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-ultimate-guide-fpl-tips"><strong>Ultimate Guide to FPL</strong></a></strong> for all our latest articles, including expert team reveals. Will the best FPL managers include the Englishman in their squads?</p>
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<h2>How does Alexander-Arnold's FPL price compare to other defenders?</h2>
<p>Alexander-Arnold is the most expensive defender in the game - and by some distance.</p>
<p>He comes in at £1.5m more than the next priciest options <strong>Kieran Trippier </strong>and <strong>Andrew Robertson</strong>, both £6.5m.</p>
<p>The main attacking alternatives to Alexander-Arnold have been priced at £5.5m, including Chelsea full-backs <strong>Reece James </strong>and <strong>Ben Chilwell</strong>.</p>
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<p>Manchester City's John Stones, who is likely to spend lots of time in midfield when his team are in possession, is also £5.5m.</p>
<p>Having plenty of options in and around this price point means Alexander-Arnold is only the fifth most popular defender in the game.</p>
<p><strong>Pervis Estupinan (£5.0m) </strong>leads the way, in just over half of FPL teams.</p>
<p>But should Alexander-Arnold be in more squads, or is his moderate ownership justified?</p>
<div id="attachment_49162" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-49162" class="wp-image-49162 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/trent-alexander-arnold-close-up.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-49162" class="wp-caption-text">Trent Alexander-Arnold. Picture by Getty Images.</p>
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<h2>Why is Alexander-Arnold so expensive in FPL?</h2>
<p>The England international has received a £0.5m price rise on last season.</p>
<p>This doesn't make him the most expensive FPL defender on record, with a select group starting at £8.5m in the past.</p>
<p>John Terry was £8.5m in 2004/5 and was so popular, he rose to a hefty £9.0m.</p>
<h3>Inverted right-back role</h3>
<p>The end of last season was probably a major factor in Alexander-Arnold's valuation.</p>
<p>Klopp gave his star full-back a new role towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign.</p>
<p>He played as an inverted right-back, meaning he pushed into central midfield when the Reds were on the ball.</p>
<p>This led to a boost to his creative output.</p>
<p>Between Gameweek 30 and 38, he eclipsed all other defenders by scoring 60 FPL points. Estupinan lagged behind in second (42) despite playing an extra game.</p>
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<li><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/liverpool-fpl-fantasy-football-tips-team-preview"><strong>Liverpool team preview: Predicted lineup, stats and set-piece takers</strong></a></li>
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<p>Alexander-Arnold managed one goal and seven assists in this time. No other player contributed more assists, let alone defenders.</p>
<p>The 24-year-old's assists total was well ahead of his expected assists (xA) of 4.27.</p>
<p>While such overperformance is often deemed unsustainable, he has significantly outperformed his xA three times in the last five seasons.</p>
<p>He led the way among defenders for both expected points (4.6) and actual points (6.0) per appearance while playing in his new position.</p>
<p>His expected points total was not streets ahead of his rivals though, with Newcastle's <strong>Fabian Schar</strong> close behind on 4.32.</p>
<p>Performing closer to his expected levels could strengthen the case for looking elsewhere in 2023/24 - but his numbers demonstrate explosive potential that could see those who without him miss a few hauls.</p>
<div id="attachment_55741" style="width: 907px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-55741" class="size-full wp-image-55741" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Trent-Alexander-Arnold-heat-map.jpg" alt="" width="897" height="731" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-55741" class="wp-caption-text">Trent Alexander-Arnold's heat maps before and after his new role</p>
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<h2>What is Alexander-Arnold's FPL potential?</h2>
<p>If Alexander-Arnold kept up his rate of six points per game over a whole season, he would score 228 points.</p>
<p>Extending a short period of form over 38 games is not a reliable calculation though. Form comes and goes, while Liverpool's clean-sheet potential is not solely in one defender's control.</p>
<p>Although we don't have a whole season of data for Alexander-Arnold in his new role, we can look at his points history.</p>
<p>Using the Hub's Opta stats database, we can see he has scored between 156 and 210 FPL points over the last five seasons.</p>
<p>His best return in FPL terms came back in 2019/20, when he managed four goals and 15 assists. Liverpool kept 15 clean sheets.</p>
<p>He broke the 200 points mark again in 2021/22, scoring twice and assisting 12.</p>
<div id="attachment_56304" style="width: 907px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-56304" class="size-full wp-image-56304" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Alexander-Arnold-2019-20.jpg" alt="" width="897" height="731" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-56304" class="wp-caption-text">A record season in 2019/20</p>
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<h3>Liverpool's clean sheets record and potential</h3>
<p>The Reds have kept between 12 and 21 clean sheets over the last five campaigns, averaging just short of 17.</p>
<p>They have kept 21 shut-outs twice in that time, a level which would definitely add to Alexander-Arnold's appeal.</p>
<p>Pre-season is not a totally reliable indication, however they have recorded just one clean sheet in four matches - against Championship Leicester.</p>
<p>And while goalscoring has not been a problem, with 15 goals, they have conceded 10.</p>
<p>They were defeated 4-3 by Bayern Munich on August 2, which doesn't bode particularly well for their early season clean-sheet prospects.</p>
<p>Klopp's men also face a tricky test away to Chelsea in Gameweek 1, with our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fixture-ticker">fixture ticker</a> ranking them 13th for overall difficulty over the first eight games.</p>
<div id="attachment_56336" style="width: 907px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-56336" class="size-full wp-image-56336" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Trent-fixtures.jpg" alt="" width="897" height="731" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-56336" class="wp-caption-text">Liverpool's opening fixtures</p>
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<h3>Set-piece duties</h3>
<p>Alexander-Arnold is Liverpool's set-piece specialist, which is a rarity amongst FPL defenders, although Robertson on the other flank provides the left-footed deliveries when required.</p>
<p>New signing <strong>Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) </strong>has taken a number of right-footed corners in pre-season however, including while Trent was on the pitch against Bayern Munich.</p>
<p>It's therefore worth considering whether the England international can replicate his assist tallies from previous seasons, with what is likely to be a lesser share of set-pieces.</p>
<h3>Will Alexander-Arnold even continue as an inverted full-back in 2023/24?</h3>
<p>While Alexander-Arnold has spent time in this role in pre-season, it has not been his sole responsibility.</p>
<p>He has filled in as a defensive midfielder, with the Reds yet to sign a replacement for Fabinho, who left for Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>A new defensive midfield signing would ease fears over Alexander-Arnold stepping into the number six role.</p>
<p>And it's worth remembering that even as a standard right-back, he has done considerable damage to opposition defences in the past.</p>
<p>Check out our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-pre-season-results-guide">pre-season guide</a> for a concise overview of Liverpool's friendly results and key takeaways.</p>
<div id="attachment_53848" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-53848" class="size-full wp-image-53848" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Trent-Alexander-Arnold.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="737" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-53848" class="wp-caption-text">Trent Alexander-Arnold. Picture by Getty Images.</p>
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<h2>Does Alexander-Arnold make the Hub's AI team for FPL Gameweek 1?</h2>
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Is Trent Alexander-Arnold worth his £8.0m FPL price tag?

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