There have been some wonderful Liverpool FC sides down the years. But even the great Kenny Dalglish, who has played in and managed some of them, thinks the current one could top the lot. Following a victory over Sheffield United at the start of 2020, Liverpool had not lost a single league game in a calendar year, becoming only the third Premier League side to do so, and they have showed no signs of slowing down since. At the time of writing they are so far ahead of second-placed Manchester City that some bookmakers are offering odds of them winning the title at 500/1 on – meaning a £500 punt would return just £1 in profit.

And at the heart of it all is a local-born player by the name of Trent Alexander-Arnold, one following in the footsteps of club greats Steven Gerrard and Robbie Fowler and one who could just be the greatest Scouser to play at Anfield yet. That is remarkable for two reasons above all. One: he is just 21, having made his debut three seasons ago. Two: he plays at right-back.

But with the help of manager Jürgen Klopp, Alexander-Arnold, who has been attached to the club since the age of six, is reinventing this one-time unglamorous position. He’s a defender, but also a playmaker, second only to Manchester City’s midfield genius Kevin De Bruyne in the second-most important stat in football: assists – ie, goals directly created by passes and crosses made. As Jamie Carragher tells me, “In two years he has taken the position of full-back to one where every kid wants to be one. He runs the game from there – that’s something I’ve never seen before.”

‘I hate losing. The feeling of someone else getting the better of you... It feels weak’

Most players go through their entire careers without their own terrace chant. But at 21, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s (“He’s Alexander-Arnold... the Scouser in our team”) is not just a reflection of his local roots, but also recognition, with his Champions League and Fifa Club World Club championship medals earned in the last year, his nine England caps and many more to come, that he is a very special talent – “probably the best in the world in his position today”, says Carragher – who just happens to be playing in probably the best team.

© Neil Bedford

There is precious little sign of it all going to his head, however. The club tell me he does more community events than any other player. And he refuses to accept that he is, as yet, a top footballer. What comes over throughout an afternoon in his company, though, is the absolute determination that he will become one, an obsession with winning born of a hatred of losing, a love of the city, the club and the charismatic German manager writing both of their names into Liverpool legend. But first, we discussed the song...

AC: What did you think when you first heard the crowd chant your song?

TAA: It was one of the proudest moments of my life, definitely.

The thing about you is that you are the only Scouser in the team.

It’s something I’m massively proud of, something I think comes with responsibility. I don’t take it for granted, because I know it’s so hard to do it. It’s probably everyone in the stadium’s dream to be that person who’s in the team who’s from the actual city that they’re from and to be able to do that having been a fan growing up.

The guys from Egypt and Brazil and Holland – can they “get it” in the same way as you?

I think they understand what the club is about, the history, this tradition, the values of the club. I grew up with it. I understood it from an early age. I was taught it throughout my childhood, whereas they weren’t.

Do you think the modern footballer can have that same connection with the fans?

Yeah. I think it’s well known here that the fans are special and they love the players more than anything, but it’s not just about the fans. It’s whether you fit the city and the environment that you’re living in, whether the people accept you, if you feel at home, if the family feel at home. I think Liverpool is probably one of the easiest in that regard, because as soon as you come in you are accepted – you know that.

‘Jürgen Klopp is unbelievable. He makes sure his message is instilled in us so we’re our best’

When did you know that you were going to be a really good footballer?

I don’t think I ever knew that I’d be a really good footballer. I wouldn’t think now that I’m a really good footballer.

Are you trying to tell me you don’t know you’re a really good footballer?

I’d say I haven’t reached full potential at all. I’m not where I need to be and where I can be. So there’s no point putting a label on it, in my mind. I still have a lot of improvement to do. Growing up, there were always indications of it, but, for me, it was just about playing every game. I wanted to win every game. It was never me thinking, “I’m put on the planet and I have to be a footballer,” it was more just every day going to train and wanting to win and wanting to be as competitive as possible.

Few right-backs get talked about as a footballer in the way that you do...

Yeah, obviously that’s their opinions. I try to play as well as I can to help the team win stuff. Any individual accolade will never come close to a team trophy, because they’re the ones that you grow up dreaming of winning. They’re the ones that mean the most. They’re the hardest ones to win.

© Neil Bedford

When you were growing up, some of the coaches who looked after you said you had a real problem with temperament. Your temper.

I wasn’t angry all the time, just maybe overly competitive at times, because I wanted to win so much that if I didn’t, then obviously I’d be upset. I’d be angry – angry at myself that I hadn’t won something. That comes from a young age. Doing anything with my brothers, we’d be competitive all the time in anything that we ever did. So, for me, it was normal to be angry if you didn’t win.

Were there moments when your temper got the better of you, affected you for the worse, and did you have to get rid of that?

Yeah, because it would make you lose concentration in the game. You’d be focused on your mistakes and, say, if you gave a foul away or gave a penalty away, you made a mistake to cost your team a goal. You’re kicking yourself, and then for the next five minutes you’re out of the game, or your team is down to ten men. The control of your temperament will be the same as practising your passing, your receiving, your skill sets, your shooting, your crossing. The mentality side of it is just as important as the technical side of the game.

‘Team trophies are the ones that mean the most. They’re the hardest ones to win’

Do you love winning or do you hate losing?

I hate losing. The feeling of someone else getting the better of you... it’s weakening. It feels weak. You feel as though you’ve let yourself down.

Jürgen Klopp, in a word?

Unbelievable. Just everything about him in every way. His man management... as a person, as a manager. Just unbelievable.

The Klopp that we see on the television, how close is that to the Klopp that you see on the training ground?

He’s the same person, because I feel as though in those interviews, when you see him on the camera, you can see that he’s a loving person. You can see that he’s someone who cares about the people around him. He cares about his family, he cares about his players, he cares about his staff. He treats everyone as equals. He treats the captain the same as he would a young player. People probably have a conception of him as maybe being very emotional, heart on the sleeve. Which he is to an extent, but he knows how to control it in ways that are beneficial to everyone around him. He knows what needs to be said and what tone it needs to be said in, at the right time.

What about when he’s taking you aside, one on one? What has he done with you, specifically, to say, “Here you are, Trent, here’s how we can improve things”? How does he manage that side of the job?

Literally like what you said. He’d talk to you about what you need to improve, what things you need to be doing to get on to the team and why you’re not on the team.

He’d explain to you why you’re not on the team?

Sometimes. Sometimes he won’t – maybe that’s the message itself: you’re not on the team so you need to do something to change. More times than not, you know what you need to do. But if it needs to be explained to you, then the manager will explain to you.

Would you literally sit down with clips of videos and go over “That was good, that could be better”?

No, he won’t sit you down with clips. I think at this level the players and the athletes should be doing that by themselves. If the manager has told you to do something and you don’t really understand it, then you should go to the analysts and get the clips and understand what he meant. He keeps our mentality 100 per cent. He makes sure that the message is instilled in us every single day to make sure that we’re our best.

Do you think it’s possible, at your level, to develop real friendships with teammates? Or do you think you’re just all professionals and you’re part of that team?

You will create proper friendships in the team environments because you spend so much time with people that you know so much about them. I truly believe that connection will last a lot longer than people think. Because you spend so much time with them, you understand them, you’re having fun with them. You’re going through good times, bad times. You’re sharing a section of your life with those people for so long. They become your family.

Would you check out how Kieran Trippier, your rival at right-back in the England side, is getting on in Madrid?

I check up on all the leagues.

© Neil Bedford

Yeah, but would you check up on him from the perspective of him being in your mind as somebody you’ve got to be better than the whole time, from Gareth Southgate’s perspective?

I wouldn’t say that was in my mind too much, because I’m focused on playing as well as I can. You know that when you’re playing for Liverpool, by playing well you put yourself into Gareth’s mind as much as possible and you understand that he picks his teams kind of off club form.

You play chess.

Sometimes. Probably not as much as people think I do.

‘Racism comes from a lack of education... Everyone deserves an equal opportunity to do what they want’

You played Magnus Carlsen. He’s probably the greatest chess player of all time.

Yeah, so if you get that opportunity you’re not going to turn it down, are you?

But you lost.

Yeah. I lost.

Did that defeat hurt you? Presumably not?

No, no. It’s not like I play on a daily basis. It was more of a hobby growing up when the weather was bad.

What was the last film you saw?

Bad Boys.

The last book you read?

James Milner’s.

Who’s your funniest teammate?

Robbo [left-back Andy Robertson].

Who has the most trouble with your accent?

I’d probably say Takumi [Minamino]. He didn’t speak a lot of English when he first came, but he is probably the fastest learner I’ve ever seen for someone learning a language.

Who’s the cleverest squad member?

I’d back James Milner. Very intelligent guy.

Who’s the worst dressed?

I wouldn’t say anyone dresses badly, there are just people... There are styles I know I wouldn’t be able to pull off like Divock [Origi]. I know if I put it on I wouldn’t look good at all. But that doesn’t make him a bad dresser. It just makes me not suited to his style.

You’re still living at home with your mother. How long is that going to last?

As long as it needs to. I’ve always enjoyed having people around me that I like and I love, so to have family around me all the time is important. I’ve always enjoyed it.

‘To be a Scouser is an honour. It’s probably one of the best things you can be’

What does being a Scouser mean to you?

I think it’s an honour, really. It’s probably one of the best things you can be. Everyone’s got the same beliefs, the same drive to succeed, the same hard-work ethic, the tenacity. The passion in what they believe in is a massive thing in this city.

Would you read the Sun? [An article printed in the newspaper after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, under the headline “The Truth”, prompted a boycott of the tabloid throughout Merseyside.]

No.

Do you think Liverpool’s thing with the Sun will go on forever?

It’s hard for me to comment on that. The events that took place [the Hillsborough tragedy] were probably about a decade before I was born. So, I’m still trying to learn about what happened. So, I feel as though I know I’ve got obligations to stand for things. Obviously, I’ve got beliefs, but I wouldn’t say I’m educated enough in that sense to be giving outright comments. I still want to know more. It’s not taking a political stance on it, it’s about me trying to learn as much as I can about what happened.

The last footballer I interviewed was Raheem Sterling and we talked a lot about the whole race issue. Have you directly experienced racism in either in your life or in your football?

Not directly to me, no. The only time was the Bulgarians [Bulgaria vs England last October].

But you’ve never had that, either in a football ground or outside one?

No. But I feel as though the racism comes from a lack of education, educating people to understand that every person is the same, no matter what colour of skin, what gender. Discrimination is not acceptable in any form, because everyone’s equal and everyone deserves an equal opportunity to do what they want. In terms of football, why shouldn’t someone be able to go on a football pitch and express themselves because they’re a different colour to someone else and people feel as though that’s a problem? It’s beyond crazy for me.

‘The fans here are special and they love the players more than anything... As soon as you come in you are accepted’

Messi or Ronaldo?

Messi for me.

Shankly or Paisley?

Shankly.

The other thing Raheem said is that he hated playing at Burnley. Do they have the worst changing rooms for an away team in the Premier League?

Yeah. Crystal Palace were tight but they’ve had them redone, so it’s not too bad any more. But, yeah, Turf Moor is the worst for the changing rooms.

Excellent, long may it stay that way. Favourite other team? Have you got a Scottish team?

Growing up I was Celtic, but now, because of the connection [Steven Gerrard managing Rangers], I’m probably neutral up there now. But I’d say my favourite other team would be Barça. I feel as though they’ve got kind of the same values and beliefs as Liverpool.

Can you imagine yourself playing your whole career at Liverpool?

Yeah, I can imagine that.

But would you fancy playing in Spain or Germany?

It’s not something I’ve ever really thought about. I’ve always loved Liverpool. I’ve always supported them. I’ve always played for them. So, I’ve never had that reason to think about it. Yeah, still now, I wouldn’t sit there in my room and daydream about playing somewhere else. Right now, I’m a Liverpool player. I love the club more than anything. I love everything about it. I love the fans, the people. I love the city. So, no, why would I think about that?

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