The data that reveals Kyle Walker is now slower than Trent Alexander-Arnold

Time seems to be catching up with Manchester City full-back while his rival for England spot remains Liverpool’s quickest

It was one of the most eye-catching moments of the Premier League season so far. Kyle Walker and Adama Traore, two of the fastest players the division has ever seen, going head-to-head in an all-out sprint during Manchester City’s match against Fulham earlier this month.
Walker, 34, has built his incredible career on his ability to win battles such as these, with his searing pace proving to be a crucial asset for City in their dominance of the Premier League in recent seasons. On this occasion, though, the England full-back was not just beaten by his opponent, but beaten comfortably.
Of course, there is no shame in losing a race to the rapid Traore. But it was still unusual to see Walker trailing an opponent by such a distance. Premier League data shows that the City defender reached a speed of 31.4 km/h in that battle, while Traore clocked 33.8 km/h.
On your marks, get set, GO! 🚦💨 @Oracle pic.twitter.com/1SXw0W81il
Over the past few seasons, Walker has done remarkably well to maintain his speed at an age when most footballers would slow down. He has previously said that this is due to his discipline off the field, his work in the gym and his genetic advantages.
But time catches us all eventually and, for Walker, there is growing statistical evidence that his famous pace has finally begun to fade.
Data from Opta, published by the BBC, shows that over the first seven games of this Premier League campaign Walker has clocked only the 80th fastest top speed in the division. It might be of interest to new England manager Thomas Tuchel that Trent Alexander-Arnold, Walker’s main competition for a right-back place, has been the 19th fastest player in the league.
Alexander-Arnold has hit a speed of 34.7 km/h this season. This makes him the fastest Liverpool player so far, ahead of pacey forwards such as Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz.
An obvious caveat is that the sample size for this campaign remains small. It should also be noted that these figures are often determined by positional factors — sometimes, for example, it is defenders who are able to make the longest sprints during a game, allowing them to build up their speeds over a bigger distance.
In the case of Walker, however, the latest figures are in keeping with a wider trend: he was not among the 10 fastest players of the 2023/24 season, either, and in that campaign he fell behind Erling Haaland as the quickest player at City.
In the 2022/23 season, by contrast, Walker was the undisputed speed king of the Premier League. His top speed of 37.31 km/h was the fastest in the division by some distance, with Brennan Johnson (then of Nottingham Forest) coming closest on 36.70 km/h.
With Walker’s pace evidently slowing, there is a new statistical leader: Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven. The Dutch centre-back recorded the two fastest speeds of last season (37.38 km/h and 37.23 km/h) and is once again at the top of the rankings for this year, after reaching 37.1 km/h.
Among Van de Ven’s challengers are Wolves winger Carlos Forbs, who has reached 36.6 km/h and Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga, who has clocked a top speed of 35.9 km/h.
For City, the inevitable decline in Walker’s pace poses some pressing questions. In his mid-thirties, can he evolve his game to become less reliant on his running power? And will City be able to play with such a high defensive line without Walker’s ability to sweep up any long balls over the top? 
If not, that would represent the loss of one of their greatest weapons.