The end of one of football's great full-back duos - where do they rank?

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Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy RobertsonImage source, Getty Images

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Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson won Liverpool's only two Premier League titles together

Emlyn Begley

BBC Sport journalist

It's the end of an era for Liverpool.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold joining Real Madrid and new signing Milos Kerkez placing Andy Robertson's spot in danger, one of the Premier League's great full-back combinations is over.

Summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen Jeremie Frimpong is likely to start at right-back next season, opposite Kerkez, with Robertson being heavily linked with a move away from Anfield.

But Liverpool's new-look full-back pairing will have to do very well to make a fraction of the impact Alexander-Arnold and Robertson have had.

So just how good were they as a combo?

Alexander-Arnold and Robertson played together on 279 occasions - an average of 35 games a season in all competitions in their eight seasons together.

And each of them only played more games with Mohamed Salah.

Robertson joined from Hull City for £8m in 2017-18 with Alexander-Arnold, an academy product, having made his debut the season before.

They won 185 of those 279 games, losing 43 times.

The two full-backs played attacking roles in former boss Jurgen Klopp's high-energy football - and had a hand in nearly unprecedented numbers of goals.

In isolation their assist hauls would be remarkable but the fact they were both doing it at the same time is even more amazing.

In March 2019 Alexander-Arnold told the BBC: "We both thrive off each other's performances.

"We have got a competition between ourselves this season to see who gets more goals and assists. It's a healthy competition."

Only on 10 occasions in Premier League history has a defender created 10 or more goals in a Premier League season - and Alexander-Arnold and Robertson have each done it three times.

In 2019-20 they assisted 25 goals between them.

They are the top two assisting Premier League defenders ever - with 64 for Alexander-Arnold and 60 for Robertson.

They are some way clear, with Leighton Baines (53) and Graeme le Saux (44) the only others to set up more than 40.

In all positions, only ex-Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, Reds team-mate Salah and Tottenham forward Son Heung-min assisted more goals since the full-backs linked up in 2017-18.

They feature second and third on the list of most chances created by Premier League defenders (since Opta started to record that data in 2003-04).

Alexander-Arnold created 516 chances, with 446 for Robertson - both featuring in the top 10 in all positions since 2017-18.

The now-retired Baines tops that list for defenders with 635 chances created.

But Baines played 420 games in the English top flight for Wigan and Everton over 14 years - Robertson has played 308, including his time at Hull, and Alexander-Arnold 251.

And it is not just the assists, the pair were undroppable players in the most successful Liverpool team since the 1980s.

As well as a 66% win rate together, they won two Premier League titles, plus the Champions League, the FA Cup and two League Cups.

Who are some other iconic full-back combinations?

There have been plenty of other iconic full-back partnerships - so we want you to tell us the best one.

Here are a few you can select from - and if your favourites are missing tell us in the comments at the bottom of this page.

*All stats on games played together are from Transfermarkt

Roberto Carlos and Cafu (Brazil)

Roberto Carlos and CafuImage source, Getty Images

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Roberto Carlos and Cafu played together for Brazil 91 times

Left-back Roberto Carlos and right-back Cafu were absolutely iconic parts of the Brazil team in the 1990s and 2000s.

Bombing down each flank they won the 2002 World Cup and the Copa America twice.

They were club team-mates briefly too, playing together for Palmeiras in 1995.

Paolo Maldini and Mauro Tassotti (AC Milan)

Paolo Maldini & Mauro TassottiImage source, Getty Images

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Paolo Maldini and Mauro Tassotti played together for Italy at the 1994 World Cup - but 328 of their 332 games in the same team were for AC Milan

Maldini, who could play at left-back and in central defence, and right-back Tassotti were members of one of football's most memorable defences.

The pair flanked Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta for the all-conquering AC Milan side of the 1980s and 1990s.

They won three European Cups together, five Serie A titles and famously had a 58-game unbeaten run in the league from May 1991 to March 1993.

In total Maldini and Tassotti played together 328 times for Milan between 1985 and 1997. In the 1993-94 season Milan only conceded 25 goals in all competitions.

They also played four times together for Italy, including at the 1994 World Cup.

Denis Irwin and Gary Neville (Man Utd)

Gary Neville and Denis IrwinImage source, Getty Images

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Neville spent his whole career at Manchester United, while Irwin also played for Leeds, Oldham and Wolves

Republic of Ireland left-back Irwin and England right-back Neville played together on 231 occasions for Manchester United.

They were regular team-mates between 1994 and 2002, at which stage Irwin went to Wolves.

The pair won five Premier League titles together under Sir Alex Ferguson and played in the 1999 Champions League final win over Bayern Munich.

Marcelo and Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)

Marcelo and Dani CarvajalImage source, Getty Images

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Marcelo left Madrid in 2022 while Carvajal is still there

Attacking Brazil left-back Marcelo and battling Spain right-back Carvajal linked up to win five Champions League titles together for Real Madrid between 2014 and 2022.

They played 209 times together, and also won three La Liga titles, plus various other competitions.

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