Trent Alexander-Arnold: “Fresh Start, New Season, New Me”
Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold arrived back for pre-season training on Tuesday with a new but old look, declaring “Fresh start, new season, new me”. His short hairstyle had fans and Virgil van Dijk recalling ‘Trent of five years ago’. After a summer spent training in Los Angeles and a week at a camp at Under Armour’s Human Performance Centre in Portland, the 24-year-old appears to be ready for the new season.
The big question is where he will be playing in 2023/24. Will Jurgen Klopp continue with him as the hybrid right-back-midfielder in the new 3-4-3 shape? Trent himself isn’t sure yet, saying “It’s not my decision. I only play where I’m told to play so you know all I can say is I enjoy playing football, I enjoy playing right-back, I enjoy playing in the middle of the pitch a lot.” The opening pre-season games should give us an indication of Klopp’s intended formation and therefore Trent’s role.
Trent Alexander-Arnold Knows Liverpool Must Improve
Trent knows that last season wasn’t good enough, and that you need to be “near perfect” to match or beat Manchester City. He said “We want to be winning the league, we want to be challenging and being in title races and in Champions League football so to not be in that next season is disappointing. We know how to win the league, we know how to challenge City and go toe to toe with them and you need to be near perfect throughout the season so for us that’s where our heads are at.”
A major part of being “near perfect” would require a significant improvement in consistency and particularly away from home – where they lost as many away games as Everton last season. Trent acknowledges this, saying “Throughout the season we had good results against the big teams but we dropped points and sloppy points away from home especially. These are the things that we’ve all naturally thought about that we need to correct.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold: Ready for the Challenge Ahead
Trent Alexander-Arnold is ready for the challenge ahead this season. He has returned from pre-season training with a new look and a renewed determination to help Liverpool improve their performance from last season. It remains to be seen where he will be playing in 2023/24, but Trent is confident that he can make an impact wherever he is asked to play. He knows that Liverpool must improve their consistency and away form if they are to challenge Manchester City for the title, and he is determined to do his part in helping them achieve that goal.