Jamie Carragher has said that he’s noticed a discernible difference when watching Trent Alexander-Arnold this season, and it isn’t necessarily to do with his position on the pitch.
The 46-year-old was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast when he lauded the Reds’ number 66 for displaying a greater maturity in his on-field body language, in tandem with his elevation to the vice-captaincy last summer.
The Sky Sports pundit declared: “I feel like when I’m watching Trent Alexander-Arnold this season, even though his numbers might be the same, it’s just a body language and feeling he has got on the pitch that he’s getting older.”
READ MORE: Editor’s Column: Klopp right to be angry at Gravenberch’s poor off-the-ball work
Between his much-discussed positional shift and taking on the vice-captaincy after James Milner’s exit, the last 12 months have indeed seen Trent take on a changed role within the Liverpool team.
No longer a youthful and exuberant right-back zipping along the flanks, the 25-year-old has become a more senior player who’s controlling games from a more central role and showcasing his exceptional passing range to create scoring chances for the Reds.
He’s older now than Steven Gerrard was when captaining us to Champions League glory in 2005, and having recently surpassed 300 senior appearances for LFC (Transfermarkt), he can now be very much classed as an experienced operator in Jurgen Klopp’s side.
As Carragher says, that’s coming across in Trent’s body language on the pitch, and he’s taken it upon himself to come up with big moments for Liverpool when very much needed, such as the late goals against Manchester City and Fulham earlier in the campaign.
The West Derby native is very much a leader within the current Reds team, and our next manager is sure to lean upon him to provide commanding and authoritative presence on the pitch over the coming years.
#Ep100 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️
Pity his defending couldn’t mature