Last season, Antonee Robinson made 80 interceptions in the Premier League for Fulham—the highest of any player across Europe’s top five leagues! His secret? “I feel like I can read where a player is going fairly well.” Yet, there came a time when he was fairly outsmarted by Trent Alexander Arnold, a situation that saw him hear the end of it from his manager Marco Silva.

It’s not like the American left-back doesn’t enjoy standing up to players and picking his time to ‘close in on someone’. But the USMNT superstar has become so confident over his signature move—intercepting short, low diagonal passes aimed at the winger positioned outside of him—that he confidently uses his pace to intercept the most passes he can. Then again, it’s something that no manager would approve, considering it has its own risks.

“It’s quite annoying to the manager at times because sometimes I’ll be convinced the pass is going somewhere and almost gamble a little bit,” said Robinson in an interview with the Athletic. And when the ball does eventually go the other way, Marco Silva can’t be more frustrated with Robi at that moment. “He always says, ‘You’re fast enough to get there. Just stay, let it go (to the winger), and then go’. But sometimes when you smell something, you have the urge.”

The urge proved favorable in an instance during the Manchester City vs Fulham game. Antonee was able to pick up on Julian Alvarez’s pass to Phil Foden so he went all in and intercepted the ball effortlessly. Against Jurgen Klopp and Co., though the situation may have felt similar, the outcome turned out to be different!

“We played Liverpool, it was the exact same situation, it’s Trent (Alexander-Arnold) on the ball and he looks like he’s gonna pass it there (to the winger).” But what happens instead? “He plays it inside me; that’s the one I said the gaffer despises. He goes mental at that. Luckily, this one I made it,” narrated Robinson.

Instead of playing the guessing game while intercepting any pass, Robinson urged on the need to improve his judgment. “With that, I should know a lot better who’s on the ball. But, you know, playing against good teams you get excited. So that is a prime example of the manager waiting to kick off at me. I’m already thinking, ‘He’s gonna want to speak to me about that,’” sighed the 27-year-old.

This instance against Alexander-Arnold is a lesson in itself for Robinson. While he would be looking to improve on these mistakes, not everything goes wrong when the left-back uses this technique!

The time Antonee Robinson left Trent Alexander-Arnold’s speedy teammate in disbelief!

Marco Silva may criticize Antonee Robinson for his excessive reliance on speed, like when he misjudges pass interceptions. However, there was a moment when the USA defender earned some unexpected appreciation from Mohamed Salah. This dates back two years ago, on the Premier League’s opening day when Robinson’s performance impressed the Egyptian winger so much that Salah stopped him mid-match to ask his age.

At that time, the wing-back was around 24-25 and Salah just nodded when he heard the answer. It was only later, the two were seen swapping shirts, with Salah offering Robinson some words of encouragement. “You were the best player this game, keep up what you’re doing,” said the Egyptian. Indeed, it’s likely a moment the USMNT star hasn’t forgotten to this day.