Brighton forward Kaoru Mitoma has responded to claims that Trent Alexander Arnold is a "weak" defender by publicly backing the Liverpool full-back.
The Japanese winger, who continues to impress for Roberto De Zerbi's high-flying Brighton in his breakthrough season at the Amex, has caused all sorts of problems for teams in recent weeks, including Liverpool.
In fact, Mitoma has completed 10 dribbles against Jurgen Klopp's side in all competitions this season – the most of any player – and half of those have come directly against Alexander-Arnold.
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The England international was even subbed off in the 58th minute of their FA Cup clash against Brighton last month – and he was visibly frustrated by his manager’s decision.
It's fair to say Alexander-Arnold has struggled to compete with the in-form Mitoma, who has scored eight goals in 26 games for club and country this season.
But the Brighton man has jumped to his defence after being asked which players have left the biggest impression on him.
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Speaking to South Korean publication SPOTV at Brighton's training ground, a reporter asked Mitoma as translated by Reddit user snow_pocket: "I’m sure you have had many 1v1 duels, who are the players that left the biggest impression on you?"
The 25-year-old responded: "Well, before coming overseas I was in Japan so it would be players from Meiji University such as Keigo Tsunemoto (currently playing for Kashima Antlers) and Hotaka Nakamura (FC Tokyo).
"Because I’ve played against them often, they know the features of my play well and I was stopped many times."
Mitoma added: "When it comes to foreign players, I got past Trent Alexander-Arnold once but soon after that when I was blocked by him, his arms were strong.
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"People tend to think that his defending seems weak but he is totally strong, from what I’ve felt in person."
Mitoma's rise has been nothing short of remarkable considering his somewhat unconventional route to the top.
When he was 18, the talented winger was offered a professional contract by local J1 League outfit Kawasaki Frontale but instead of taking it with both hands the Kanagawa-born forward rejected the proposal as he felt he was not prepared for the challenges of pro football.
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In the coming weeks, he would accept an offer to study physical education at the University of Tsukuba.
"I thought it would be better to go to university in order to make it as a professional footballer,” Mitoma said in a recent interview with Eurosport. "So I studied lots of things – coaching, sports and nutrition. I learned lots of things.”
As well as attending lectures, Mitoma would develop as a footballer, representing Japan at a number of university tournaments.
But at the same time, he was absolutely engrossed in his studies. In fact, the highly-rated forward decided to go above and beyond when writing his graduation thesis on the process of dribbling.
His research involved fixing a GoPro camera to his head to record his movements, examining which ones enabled him to get past opponents.
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If you watch Mitoma dribble, he tends to keeps an eye on the opponent and the space in front of him rather than look down.
You can read Mitoma's full story here.
Featured Image Credit: SPOTV NOW/RedditTopics: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Brighton And Hove Albion, Premier League, Liverpool
