10 footballers who are undroppable for their teams

#3 Trent Alexander-Arnold | Liverpool

Trent Alexander-Arnold has provided more assists than any defender in a single Premier League season

In many ways, Liverpool's young local sensation is redefining the role of a right-back in modern-day football. It would not be a stretch to say that Alexander-Arnold is the Reds' most creative player, but what makes him unique is how different he is to the traditional right-back.

While Alexander-Arnold always maintains the width on the right flank for Liverpool, he is not one who often finds himself on the by-line looking to whip a cross in from there. Because of the quality of his delivery,

Alexander-Arnold is able to maintain a position around the edge of the penalty area, but wide on the flank, when he whips his crosses in, which accounted for a brilliant 13 assists in the Premier League for the champions.

In many ways, Alexander-Arnold is like a quarter-back from the flanks. His cross-field passes are things of beauty, for the pace and how flat he manages to ping them. That also enables Andy Robertson to attack opponents and hurt them with his crossing from that flank.

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#2 Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City

Manchester City v Liverpool FC - Premier League

Well, what can you say about this brilliant Belgian? As much as Pep Guardiola looks to fill his side with quality in all areas of the pitch, it is really not a contest as to who the fulcrum of this Manchester City side.

Kevin De Bruyne, like Alexander-Arnold, is undroppable because he's a unique player for his position. He mostly starts on the right side of a midfield three, but it is the areas that he is able to access from there, which makes him unique. He is as capable of making a mazy run past a couple of defenders as he is of pinging one ball over the top for a Raheem Sterling or a Sergio Aguero to latch on to and finish.

That is what makes De Bruyne so difficult to defend - his unpredictability, and the quality of his versatility.

As a left-back or a defensive midfield, you would have to be on your A-game for the duration of a game against Manchester City because those are mostly the areas that De Bruyne likes to access, with the inside-right channel being his favourite.

You cannot give him time and space on the ball, because he can play killer passes time and again. But if you get too tight to him, he's just as capable of dribbling past you.

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#1 Lionel Messi | Barcelona

Lionel Messi could leave Barcelona this summer

At this point, it is difficult to say what Ronald Koeman's new system at Barcelona would be, but if Lionel Messi wished to stay at Barcelona after resolving his current differences with those that run the club, it is easy to see why it would revolve around Messi.

Messi, last season for Barcelona, single-handedly kept them afloat in the La Liga title race for as long as they were alive. He scored the most goals in the league, and also broke Xavi's decade-old record for most assists in a single league season.

Without Messi, it is difficult to imagine Barcelona being anywhere near the top of the La Liga table, and that is why it is even more baffling that the Barcelona board have let things drift to a point where the Argentine leaving the club is now seen as a realistic possibility.