Liverpool might be going through a rough patch at the moment but there still are a few feel good stories coming from the club. One of which has to be the first start in the Premier League for young right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The English youngster made his Premier League debut in one of the biggest games in world football as Liverpool took on Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Nathaniel Clyne, the regular right-back, picked up a rib injury and even though Alexander-Arnold was thrust into the cauldron, the 18-year-old was possibly the best player for Jurgen Klopp on the night.
The youngster also revealed to the club’s website how he shared the news of him starting with his mother and how she broke down.
He said:
“When I called her and told her, she just started crying and that’s when I realised it’s not just me it is happening to, it is everyone around me as well, which is a good feeling to have.
“She just told me to go on and do the best I can and don’t worry about what happens and that’s what I did.”
The defender also added that manager Jurgen Klopp waited till the last moment before letting Alexander-Arnold know that he would be playing at the Theatre of Dreams.
“I wasn’t aware at all the day before,” he said.
“We all stayed over in the hotel in Manchester and I think about 12 in the afternoon, the manager told me I was starting the game and asked if I was ready and I said: ‘Yes’.
“From then on I knew I was starting and I think it was a good thing knowing [late] as if I had known the day before, I might not have had the best of sleeps.
“So to find out that late on was a good thing.”
Starting a Premier League game for someone who is only 18-years of age is a tough ask but making a debut at Old Trafford is certainly daunting. The Liverpool defender, however, played out of his skin and kept the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial in check for the entire game.
Alexander-Arnold is the latest youngster to be given a chance to perform by Jurgen Klopp and he certainly has taken it with both hands and feet. Liverpool might not have quality cover for their left-back position but at least for their right-back slot, they have a real star in the making.
