When it comes to the right-back position, the Premier League is enjoying an embarrassment of riches - that much is obvious.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, all worthy of entering the world class debate, alone make up the league's English contingent.
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César Azpilicueta and Seamus Coleman, too, can hold their own. The list goes on. Hector Bellerin and Serge Aurier and, of course, Cyrus Christie.
In what has become the most competitive position in the world's most competitive league, Alexander-Arnold has been hailed as the best according to fellow players
Nobody can deny the Liverpool youngster of his ability but was he the best in the league this season? The awards, as always, have sparked plenty of debate - certainly this side of the channel where many believe the omission of Ireland's best player in the league was a miscarriage of justice.
This season, only Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson have contributed to more @premierleague goals from defence than @mattdoherty20.
🅰️ Five assists
⚽ Four goals
🐺👏 pic.twitter.com/jNOZmGGSNl— Wolves (@Wolves) May 7, 2019
And Irish fans aren't alone in thinking Matt Doherty was deserving of a spot in the PFA Team of the Year.
Former England international Chris Waddle, speaking to the Football Faithful podcast, argued the Wolves defender was unfortunate not to be included.
He’s been bypassed, most people look at the top two and think, I’m picking him. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that Doherty hasn’t had a better season than Alexander Arnold and I’d probably say he has. He’s very unfortunate.
The great thing about people like Matt Doherty is that when they are coming up the leagues and they're playing - I think he came from the Irish League - and he came to Wolves. Mick McCarthy took him in and his story is a wonderful story, it’s a little bit like [Andy] Roberston at Liverpool.
I definitely agree he’s got a good case for being in there. But finishing seventh or eight, obviously people look at the top. You look at it and the majority of that team was Liverpool and Man City, number one and two. That’s always going to happen, unfortunately.
I’ve never been a big fan of the PFA awards and things like that because they vote at a strange time of the season and I don’t really think that a lot of players that vote look at people like Matt Doherty.
Naturally - this won't necessarily be music to the ears of Wolves fans - it leads on to the question over Doherty's credentials as an option for top-six sides.
Most of those sides are two-deep in the aforementioned position, but can the Irish international's performances be ignored? Waddle believes there's no reason Doherty cannot make that jump, claiming he can "definitely" take up a position in any of the big teams.
I’ve watched him a lot as a wing back and he does that job brilliantly. I’m sure he’d be able to play right-back in four. Because you have to think a lot of teams play in a four. Yeah, some teams juggle the odd game and think we’re playing a better team we’re going to play three at the back.
But Wolves play that three all the time so he’s been allowed to get the best out of him. The manager thinks I want him to get to that far post, I want him to get in their half, he can deliver, he can score a goal.
But if he goes to Man City he’ll be playing as a right-back and if he went to Liverpool he’d be playing as a full-back, even though they do get forward a lot. It would be interesting to see him play in a four; I’ve never really seen him play in four.
As it happens, Doherty travels to Anfield this Sunday where he will be judged aside Alexander-Arnold.
More to the point, will it be the Irishman's last game in gold?
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