In football, as in life, there are those who buckle under the weight of expectation, and those who embrace such pressure; feeding from it.
For Liverpool 's engagingly honest young defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, there is no question which category the remarkable team he is part of places themselves in. “I feel like we thrive off it,” he said of the relentless pressure Jurgen Klopp’s side have found themselves under since the turn of the year. His answer is delivered with smile, and that is a feature of the Reds approach to making history.
Since they fell to a frustrating defeat against Leicester on December 28, they have lost one match... and that didn’t actually matter, given their 1-0 reverse to Inter Milan after a 2-0 win in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie. They have actually only drawn three in that time: Chelsea in early January, that pulsating Premier League showdown with City, and another fairly dead rubber against Benfica.
So it is no wonder Alexander-Arnold believes his team is inspired by the need to win... and remains confident they can continue their remarkable form all the way to the Champions League final, and even to an historic quadruple. And, with a big grin, he says he can’t help but love the experience: “I feel like this is always the best time of the season. Every game is a final, pushing on all three fronts.
“These are the exciting games, you want to be playing in these, you want everything on the line, you want every game to feel like you have to win it. I feel the lads all feel the same way. It is exciting, the buzz you get from scoring a goal and knowing it is important. Naby’s goal on Saturday… there was a feeling, ‘this is a big goal’. Same with Hendo’s cross-shot against Villarreal. Those goals give you a different feeling that this is big, this is massive. Same with the three points. These are the best times we are going to have as a team, when you are pushing on all three fronts. Going into the final games this is an exciting time.”
Liverpool need seven more wins, and one small slip up from City, to deliver the four trophies available to English clubs for the very first time. It is thought impossible, and yet they stand within touching distance of history. And yet he believes there is more to come from a side whose manager has just committed his future until at least 2026... though he said there wasn’t much time for any sort of jubilation at the news.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Liverpool are in search of footballing immortality (Image: Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Have Your Say! Will Liverpool win the quadruple? Join the debate here.
“It wasn’t like a big celebration!!" he laughed. “It is hard it to really settle in when games are so thick and fast. Even the manager wouldn’t have wanted it to distract us or take our focus away. It is business as usual but the back of our minds, another two years and hope to make them successful.”
And that business is simple: win every game…starting with Villarreal, despite the two goal lead from the first leg. Asked what the plan for Spain was, he said: “To go out there and win. Yes, we have got the lead to protect, so it comes with some game management. We can’t be silly and drawn into the game they want to play. Two nil is a good lead but a dangerous one and we can’t get let complacency come into it, we have to approach it as though we need to win."
And there will be real desire too, from a team with an insatiable appetite. “When you do get so close you do get those memories of what it felt like sharing with your team mates and family. One game from getting there again is exciting for us. We have had an exciting time so far, seen off a lot of good opponents and then hopefully get to our third final in five years. That is the aim.”
blogpay
Total Comments: 0