Trent Alexander-Arnold lives and breathes the Liverpool Way and is on a quest to bring silverware back to Anfield

The 19-year-old knows just how much a trophy would mean to the Reds faithful

Trent Alexander-Arnold knows how much a trophy would mean to Liverpool fans (Reuters)

When Steven Gerrard departed Anfield as a player in 2015, it was feared the Liverpool Way was gone forever as well. Gerrard made his debut alongside Robbie Fowler. Fowler emerged when Steve McManaman was supplying the passes for him to score. McManaman had been protected by Steve McMahon on his debut. McMahon’s introduction had come when Ian Rush was the greatest striker in Britain. Rush played in the same Liverpool reserve team as Sammy Lee. Lee succeeded Ian Callaghan in midfield. Callaghan – who has made more appearances for Liverpool than anyone else – began his career in a team containing Bob Paisley.

With Gerrard in Los Angeles, where did it leave Liverpool’s identity? A link to the glorious past suddenly seemed even further away.

Since, frustrations have increased. It has also claimed repeatedly that Liverpool have lacked leaders. Jordan Henderson was chosen as Gerrard’s successor as captain. Earlier this month, Jürgen Klopp described the role as “the hardest job in world football.” Perhaps the mood will change. Perhaps the baton was merely dropped rather than lost.

Trent Alexander-Arnold scored his first goal for Liverpool’s first team at Anfield on Boxing Night. It was Gerrard-esque both in buccaneering delivery and celebration, sliding across the turf on his knees in front of the Kop with his arms spread. Alexander-Arnold hails from West Derby, just around the corner from Melwood. He is in regular contact with Gerrard, now back as the club’s under-18s coach. He has said that it his career aim to become Liverpool’s captain. He is already starting to speak like one. He appreciates what the club's priorities should be.

Having played in 22 games for Liverpool in 2017 and having scored three goals from right back, Alexander-Arnold was asked what his hopes are for 2018. His response was emphatic – and a reminder there remains at least one passionate Liverpool supporter in Klopp’s squad, as keen as anyone watching him to improve on the record of just one trophy in eleven years.

“As a team, it is just to win silverware,” he said. “For the fans and everyone associated with the club they want to see silver back at Anfield and that is a really big target for us all.”

There was another answer from Alexander-Arnold, one which reflects well on Klopp because it revealed a lot about training ground standards. Listen to any of Liverpool’s former players from the golden era between 1959 and 1990 and they will tell you that matches regularly appeared easier because intensity in preparation was so fierce. Klopp has been criticised for supposedly asking too much from his Liverpool squad but it appears to suit Alexander-Arnold, who is benefiting from being examined by Phillipe Coutinho, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino on a daily basis.

Alexander-Arnold scored his first Premier League goal on Boxing Day (Reuters)

“It is a nightmare because there is no real way to stop them as each one brings a different aspect to the pitch and it is crazy to play against. What they do on the pitch they do to players in training. We see it every day in training. With the level being so high in training it is almost like it is a match situation because the players you play against are sometimes better than the players you play against at the weekend. You are playing against better players than you are actually going to play against and that makes it a lot easier to cope with.”

The 19-year-old says it is not the skills of Liverpool’s ‘Fab Four’ that sets them apart but their fitness, “the stamina, the endurance,” which allows them to sprint faster than most opponents and ultimately, test and improve him as well.

Hopes are high that the 19-year-old may grow to be a Liverpool captain one day (Reuters)

As ever with Liverpool, though, there is a caveat – one which means you cannot mention them without discussing the standard of their defending or, indeed, goalkeeping. Klopp stood with Alexander-Arnold on the pitch for several minutes after the dismantling on Swansea, explaining his preferences for the future. Lessons are still to be learned about gamesmanship.

“He was pleased with the performance and especially the goal,” Alexander-Arnold recalled. “I got an elbow to the face at one point and he said unless my nose is broken I need to get up off the floor straight away. In the future when I get an elbow, I’ll be straight back up.”