Trent Alexander-Arnold is officially a Premier League winner. The young right back talks about how he became the player we see today and talks about the his relationship with Henderson, backyard games and how he wants to improve his defensive side of his game.
Trent Alexander-Arnold poses for a portrait in Liverpool, United Kingdom on November 19, 2019 // Greg Coleman / Red Bull Content Pool //
On growing up with his brothers and how they shaped his career.
“I think me and my brothers definitely hit 10,000 hours (of football). It was quite unhealthy now that I think about it,” laughs Trent, as he recalls the amount of football he and his brothers, Tyler (now 25) and Marcel (now 17), would play growing up. He first remembers playing with his eldest brother Tyler at the age of five (“I’d be playing it with him round the houses, and in the gardens and stuff”) and, later, the hunger he and his brothers shared to play football at any given opportunity. “Any type of football game, or any type of weather, at any time of the day, we’d be playing football, the three of us; there was nothing else we did. If it was raining, we’d make goals inside in the hallway, we’d use balls of tin foil, we’d use socks, we’d use literally anything at all to play football.”
Such an inherent – and incessant – desire to win, Trent is certain, stems from the many years he spent playing football with his two brothers. “It’s down to my brothers that I have that competitiveness,” he says. “The competitiveness between the three of us was frightening, there’d be tears, they’d be fights, there was everything you can imagine just to win.”
And it’s a trait that, even now, continues to service him, as he strives to be the best player he can – in every possible context. “I try and be competitive in training, in anything: in passing drills I try and challenge someone, who makes a mistake first, who’ll score the least goals, obviously [with] me and Robbo [fellow full-back Andrew Robertson], who will get the most assists. It just makes me such a better player because I’m focused so much on winning that I put everything that I have into it.”
On playing lots of football as a kid
“When I first joined Liverpool, I was training, maybe two-three times a week, and then I would play for two teams on a Saturday. I’d play for the under-sevens for my local team and then, straight after that, I’d go and play for under-eights. And then on the Sunday, I’d play in the morning for a different team and then I’d go to the academy and play again there. So I was playing so much football from a young age.”
On his debut against Tottenham
But Trent’s big break – and proudest career moment so far – came with his first-team debut in October 2016. Just two weeks after his 18th birthday, he was named in Jürgen Klopp’s starting 11 in a League Cup match against Tottenham. “They’d named the team and I was starting, and I remember being really confused because I hadn’t been expecting it,” he recalls. “It was so nerve-wrecking because you’ve never played in front of 50-55,000 people before. But it was one of the best days of my life.”
On his first Premier League start against Manchester United
Then came his first Premier League start against Manchester United in 2017 at Old Trafford, which, arguably, came as an even bigger surprise. It was just three hours before kick-off when Klopp approached and asked: “Are you ready?”:
“We trained on the Saturday, and then travelled to Manchester and stayed over,” says Trent, “just a normal match day. And then we have a walk about three hours before kick-off, and the manager came over to me and put his arm round me and said, ‘Are you ready?’ I was so confused. He said: ‘Are you in?’ I said yeah, yeah. And he said: ‘OK, well I need you to start today.’ He said my face dropped. That’s how I felt, I was so shocked. I went back to my room and called my mum and she literally just burst into tears.”
“I was starstruck, I was nervous, I was really shy,” says Trent of joining the senior side. “Everyone tried to help me, they all understood how nerve-racking it was stepping up.”
On his relationship with Jordan Henderson
But there was one player in particular who Trent was especially grateful for. “Hendo [team captain Jordan Henderson] was big,” he explains. “I never really had an amazing bond with any of the lads because I’ve always been quiet, but he just made me comfortable being around them type of lads.” The pair struck up a friendship while out in Russia for the 2018 FIFA World Cup – a bond which had an instrumental and long-lasting impact. “He made me not be afraid to make mistakes, and not feel as though I’m not as talented as the other lads,” he explains. “After that I wasn’t overthinking asking for the ball… so I’d take more risks and, by doing that, I became a better player.”
Winning the Champions League is his happiest moment for Liverpool but his proudest is still making his debut
“I’d say that was the happiest, definitely the happiest,” he concludes. “I feel as though my debut was my proudest because, even though I always dreamed of winning the Champions League and winning trophies, first and foremost, you need to make your debut and I knew once I’d played that game, I was a Liverpool player. No one could ever take that away from me.”
On improving defensively and in his career
“People might think I’m a bit big-headed, but I know myself that I can get as high as I want to get to, defensively, if I work hard enough for it. I feel as though the sky’s the limit, really.”
This interview is sourced from Red Bull. To find out about how other Red Bull athletes made it to the top, head to the Red Bull Pro hub.
Max
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