sport news Rio Ferdinand argues Reece James is BETTER than Trent Alexander-Arnold trends now 'Reece is ahead right now!': Rio Ferdinand argues Reece James is BETTER than Trent Alexander-Arnold, with the BT Sport pundit claiming the Chelsea man is 'just as good on the ball' as his Liverpool counterpart but 'a notch up defensively' Rio Ferdinand has said that Reece James is better than Trent Alexander-Arnold Both full-backs scored for their club sides in the Champions League this week The two are competing for a starting place at right-back in the England squad The pundit said James is equally as good going forward but better defensively Ferdinand did however claim that roles could easily be reversed very soon By Lewis Browning For Mailonline Published: 23:25 BST, 5 October 2022 | Updated: 23:28 BST, 5 October 2022 Viewcomments Rio Ferdinand has insisted that Reece James is better than Trent Alexander-Arnold right now. The England full-backs have formed an intense rivalry in the battle for the Three Lions right-back birth, and both were on the scoresheet for their club sides in the Champions League this week. Ferdinand, however, speaking on BT Sport, suggested the Chelsea man is ahead in the race right now, but didn't rule out that changing in the near future. Rio Ferdinand has claimed Reece James is currently better than Trent Alexander-Arnold He said the James is equally as good on the ball but that Alexander-Arnold is worse defensively 'On the ball, I believe he [James] is equally as good as Trent, but defensively he is a notch up in one versus one situations,' said Ferdinand. 'That’s the difference between them at the moment. It is a great subplot for the Premier League. 'The best players have a rivalry and they will push each other. In my eyes, Reece is ahead right now, but Trent will come out of this spell and that could change.' Ferdinand suggested that Trent Alexander-Arnold will return from his current poor form James put an in impressive performance for Chelsea against AC Milan this evening, scoring and setting up another while dealing with Rafael Leao going the other way. Ferdinand was impressed with how James dealt with one of Europe's hottest prospects, despite a slow start. 'He was up against Leao, and if he didn’t know, Reece James knew after 10 mins he was in for a tough night,' said the former England defender. The two are competing for a place at right-back in England's Qatar World Cup team 'I was screaming up here, James faces him up and gets left early. Then he is worrying. But in the second half he decided he would be aggressive, didn’t let Leao behind, took the ball, then Leao knew he was in for a fight. 'He also said I’ll defend you but I’ll go the other way too.' Gareth Southgate is set to name is 26-man England squad later this month, with Alexander-Arnold failing to make an appearance in the most recent international break. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility