Trent Alexander-Arnold is regarded as one of the greatest full-backs in the world, representing England and with over 240 appearances for Liverpool FC. He’s a household name.
When he was just 21, Arnold became the fourth-youngest player to reach 100 appearances for the club, behind Michael Owen, Raheem Sterling and Robbie Fowler. In that match, he assisted Mané for the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Aston Villa. For a defender, he does not miss an opportunity to assist in a victory or take a nerve-racking risk – he drives forward, creates exciting goals made for full stadiums and plays with a creativity that modern football often lacks.
As he grew up, Trent Alexander-Arnold shifted from watching cartoons with his breakfast to immersing himself in football. Instead of children’s TV, he spent hours watching matches with his brothers. “I didn’t really support anyone when I was young, I just watched goals and players,” he said.
They’d watch Thierry Henry at his Arsenal peak, and race outside to recreate the set pieces and goals between them. As Arnold describes this, he speaks of his brothers like a mini matchday squad – “For what I lacked in strength and age from my older brother, I made up for the good quality of football I was playing, so it was quite an even match. And then my little brother, he was left-footed, so he brought something different to the bunch.”
Alexander-Arnold is the type of fun, expressive player who takes risks with choices that make fans take sharp inhales and divide traditional pundits. Most of the time, that pays off. In 2019, in the 79th minute of Liverpool’s Champions League match against Barcelona, Alexander-Arnold’s quickly-taken corner resulted in a goal that was later described by Luis Suarez as making “Barca look like a team of children.”
When asked about this risk taking in his life, and as a defender, Trent explained that he tries to play every game with a free mind, a little bit naive and open to anything that happens. “I didn’t actually realize what I’d done until I got into the changing room and checked my phone and it was mayhem.”
