It has now been 18 months since Pedro Porro arrived in England, and it’s time for the Spurs defender to get his flowers. We’ve got the best right-back in the Premier League, and yet no one is talking about it.
When Porro first joined Tottenham, there were huge question marks over his defensive abilities and it looked like the Spaniard really struggled to adapt to the demands of the Premier League.
It’s important to remember, he arrived at a time of turmoil for Spurs, with Antonio Conte approaching the end of his disastrous regime. Since Ange Postecoglou took over and implemented the inverted full-back role, Porro has not only looked more effective, but way happier, too.
Last season, Porro ended the campaign with three goals and seven assists. He already has one goal to his name this term, too. In terms of attacking returns, there is no one who comes close to the Spurs man right now.
His goal against Leicester in the first game of this season — a headed effort inside the box — may not be as spectacular as some of the long-range efforts he has become more well-known for, but it was indicative of his adventurous spirit and shrewd attacking positioning.
The 24-year-old loves to bomb forward, he links up well with his right-winger, he can deliver a mean cross into the box, and he’s a genuine goal threat.
But, any right-back worth his salt needs to be able to defend. That was an issue at first, but Porro has improved massively in that department over the last year.
As per WhoScored, Porro blocked 22 crosses last season, more than any other player in the Premier League. One thing he has really worked on is his awareness, his decision-making, and his positional discipline down that right-hand side, and that shows in the numbers.
He also made 91 tackles last term, the eighth most in the division, and won 63 of them, to rank fifth in the league. Looking deeper into FBRef’s statistics, we see Porro also ranked second for dribblers tackled (62), ranked fifth for general blocks (63), and his 2768 touches across the season put him eighth in the league, higher than any other full-back.
So, we know that Porro is heavily involved in everything Tottenham do, he’s contributing in attacking areas, and he’s in the right place at the right time in defence, too.
So, is he the best in the league, really? Kyle Walker was once the undisputed king in this position, but his decline is clear to see. The Manchester City star is still a top talent, and no one can question his legacy, but there’s no way he’s still top of the tree.
No, Porro’s crown is more at risk when you look at Arsenal’s Ben White and Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold. The problem is that you will not find either of those players on any of the leaderboards we mentioned previously.
Alexander-Arnold does have pretty impressive passing into the final third stats (202 last season), successful crosses into the box (18), and through-ball numbers (22). He is undoubtedly great when it comes to build-up play, but attacking returns of just three goals and four assists last season paint a picture of a player who doesn’t actually influence the game as much as we might think.
Defensively, too, the Liverpool man has never been known for his tackling, and his positional awareness is poor, to say the least. How many times have we seen Alexander-Arnold in the wrong place, and failing to put in the effort to track back?
As for White, four goals and four assists last year show that his attacking returns are strong, but still not a match for Porro. The Arsenal defender has made a highly successful transition from centre-half to right-back, and definitely possesses the necessary aggression, awareness, and composure to be rated among the best in his position.
Still, give me Porro any day. And, as an added bonus, he absolutely adores the club. What more could you want from a right-back?
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