Trent Alexander-Arnold must feel he’s spent an entire career trying to silence critics so it was an instinctive reaction to celebrate Saturday’s equaliser by gesturing ‘Ssshh…’ directly in front of the Manchester City fans.
Perhaps it’s a sign of his growing confidence that he didn’t even try to sugarcoat the provocative finger-to-the-lips gesture afterwards.
‘It’s always good to celebrate in front of away (opposition) fans,’ he said cheekily. ‘You get to see the faces and it’s funny.’
Suddenly, he seems to have found a way of maximising his abilities. At Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp is now happy to play him in a hybrid role, defending out of possession but stepping into midfield and breaking forward when his side have the ball.
Trent Alexander-Arnold ‘shushed’ the Manchester City fans after equalising for Liverpool
The right back faced a tough test up against Jeremy Doku but can point to a few key interceptions for himself
The defender has been played as a midfielder by Gareth Southgate in recent England matches
He performed both roles very well at The Etihad, going toe-to-toe in a compelling duel with City’s flying winger Jeremy Doku, and then advancing to the edge of their box with 10 minutes left and burying an equaliser with a terrific low drive from Mo Salah’s pass.
‘Trent played a very good game,’ praised Klopp afterwards. ‘He was influential in a positive way.
‘He had his moments with Doku who is a really good dribbler and we changed him in the second half, made it clearer to him to take a risk on the last line. Then we scored the goal.
‘Trent was really important in all areas. Preparing the most difficult game of the season with one session (because of the international break) is really a challenge. Super-tricky with only 30 minutes training on the pitch and 45 minutes in the meeting room.’
Alexander-Arnold seems to have flourished with being the vice-captain’s job at his hometown club following the summer departures of James Milner and Jordan Henderson.
Alexander-Arnold is enjoying an impressive spell in the team despite receiving stick last year
When England call him up, he’s listed as a midfielder rather than defender showing where Gareth Southgate thinks his ability lies.
But he would have been impressed by how he stuck to his task against Doku, who has skinned many full backs this season. The Belgian did create chances but Alexander-Arnold never let his head drop and can point to a number of important interceptions himself.
He declared himself satisfied with Liverpool’s work. ‘It’s definitely a better result than we got here here last year when we lost 4-1.
‘It wasn’t an amazing performance from us but there were positives – we also had our chances to win.
‘Their formation challenged us in the first half. We regrouped at half-time, came out with a bit more of a game plan and pressed them.
Manager Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for his defender and claimed he had an influence throughout the game
‘Subconsciously when you play Man City, you’ve got a lot of respect for the team and you don’t get tight – you stand off them.
‘Second half, we put that respect to the side and thought, “let’s go for it, we have to get a result” – and that’s what we did.’
That healthy lack of respect, or refusal to be submissive, shone through as he enjoyed his goal.
No longer a youngster, it is interesting that Alexander-Arnold is also developing a keen eye for the tactical side – not exactly his carefree image in the early days.
‘There was potentially a game plan from City to stop me from getting the ball, at least that’s what it felt like, especially in the first half,’ he said.
‘A little bit of man marking, I think Bernardo was very close to me a lot when I was pulling inside. It felt like that.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola pointed at Alexander-Arnold’s ‘incredible talent’ after the game
It was about trying to get on the ball in different ways adapted to it, get wider, also free players like Dom (Dominik Szoboszlai) and Macca (Alexis Mac Allister) to get on the ball.’
Perhaps the ultimate compliment for Alexander-Arnold came from Pep Guardiola who said he was proud of his side for containing Liverpool so well – until their free-flowing defender-cum-midfielder popped up with a perfect finish.
‘We conceded just two chances,’ said Guardiola. ‘A header in the first half and the goal – because Alexander-Arnold has incredible talent for that situation.’
No wonder Liverpool’s cult No 66 didn’t want to greet his game-changing moment with a whisper.
