Trent Alexander-Arnold is straight from another rehab session at Liverpool’s new training base. His fitness is returning. Days not weeks, he claims. It says much about the collective will under Jürgen Klopp that Liverpool march on regardless, absorbing bad news and recycling it as opportunity. It is the Klopp way, a relentless, unforgiving assault on the moment.
Injury sucks, of course it does, but it also offers the chance for reflection and, in his case, sponsor engagement, rolling out his relationship with Kinetica, a sports supplement brand, apposite when you are speed-healing an injured calf muscle. And who would not want to be associated with a Liverpool pin-up?
Alexander-Arnold was a victim of the cluster bomb of setbacks that ripped out the heart of Liverpool’s defensive structure. The loss of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez to long term injury would buckle the psyche of lesser men. That Klopp sticks his chin out like Captain Ahab confronted by the monstrous Moby Dick is a comfort to those laid low, and to those filling the gaps, reinforcing that “keep calm, carry on, we are Liverpool” mentality.
“Overall as a manager he is unbelievable,” says Alexander-Arnold of the man who gave him his debut four years ago. “His man management, the way he gets his passion across. The way he is on the touchline, so enthusiastic, gives us that energy on the pitch. The way he talks, the way he motivates us, is all world class. He literally embodies the experience of Liverpool.”
That first outing against Spurs in the League Cup a fortnight after his 18th birthday is the one Alexander-Arnold treasures above all, and he has quite the portfolio of competing claims. “It was the best, probably the most alive I have ever felt. I felt fear. I was scared. Excited obviously but mainly scared. You have to try to ignore it as much as possible and settle into the game. The first time is always the hardest. You get used to it. Now it’s a walk in the park.”
At just 22 Alexander-Arnold is at the forefront of the English game, an exemplar of the wing-back role that has come to define modern football. In terms of value and status he ranks among the Liverpool indispensables alongside Van Dijk, Mo Salah, Sadio Mané and Alisson.
But more than them, he commands the kind of love conferred by fans only on one of their own. That he stepped from the stands to the pitch means more, to borrow from the Klopp lexicon. He is proud of the connection, to represent the Scouse nation in a team of global beacons.
“I feel as though people see me as themselves. Hopefully, because I’m so relatable, I am showing them that dreams can come true. Like I’ve said before I’m just a normal lad showing what’s achievable. I have always found it important to have local lads in the team. It has been a few years since we have had that regularly.”
All fairy tales are authenticated by moments of difficulty, bumps in the road that in the immediacy of the hour are experienced as crises. Alexander-Arnold ran into one on top of another two years ago, first the excoriation inflicted by Marcus Rashford at Old Trafford, and then torment of Wilf Zaha at Selhurst Park.
At least Liverpool won the latter. As ever, the bad days are more informative than the good. “You feel really bad when it happens. It’s part of the game. It can be really tough but probably the best lessons I have learned came in those two games. They prepared me for what life was like and maybe turned me into the player I am today.”
Alexander-Arnold is attacking history on two fronts. Only two Englishmen have won European Cup and World Cup medals, both in the service of Manchester United more than half a century ago. This is what he thinks England must do if he is to emulate Sir Bobby Charlton and the late Nobby Stiles. It won’t surprise you to learn that his thesis is informed by the Klopp world view.
“We have to demand the most from each other and have that winning mentality even before you have won anything. To believe that you are good enough to win and that you have what it takes to win and expect to win. If we have the mentality of winners we can go out there and become winners. It’s about belief and confidence. That’s coming. We have had the experience at the World Cup. Now we need to take it that bit further.”
This begs the obvious questions. How does the England experience differ from Liverpool? How does Gareth Southgate compare with the great Klopp? “They are different personalities but the mindset and competitiveness is the same. They both want to win. With Jürgen it took years of building the team before we became winners. That is probably the case with England.”
Though much has been made of the “club England” atmosphere engendered by Southgate, is it possible for England to emulate Liverpool in maximising the potential of a group arguably as talented? “Potentially. It is difficult because in club football you get the time to work on things. In international football you get less time to work on tactics which will always leave you at a disadvantage. But if you have the right blend of players that can gel with anyone it helps solves that problem.”
In that regard Southgate very much gets a tick. “There are no club rivalries brought through the door. It’s a good environment, everyone working together as one unit. The Iceland game was very positive.
“Their game against Belgium had its positives too. As a team everyone understands there is a way to go and that we have to get things right. With the potential we have there is a lot of excitement about the future. A good blend of youth and experience. It’s great to be a part of it.”
And to be a cornerstone of a Liverpool ensemble that, according to Jamie Carragher, might just be the best of the lot. “It’s fun, it’s exciting. Amazing squad, an amazing team, but not only amazing players, amazing people as well.” Virgil a nice bloke? “Amazing guy. Someone who just has authority and demands respect.”
That front three (Mané, [Roberto] Firmino, Salah)? “Unbelievable, the way that they are, the connection they have is unreal. From time to time I have to play against them in training. As a right back I have to face Sadio. He’s rapid. That’s not fun.”
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