Trent Alexander-Arnold has opened up to FourFourTwo about the emotions he experienced when he learned he was to become the new vice-captain for Liverpool, and admits he's still puzzled as to why Jurgen Klopp picked the specific moment he did.
The actual conversation he had with Jurgen Klopp was captured on camera by Liverpool's media team during a pre-season tour of Singapore, though it's not possible to hear what was said.
Alexander-Arnold exclusively told FourFourTwo: “I don’t know why he chose that moment. I think it was more that he maybe felt like it was going to get out into the press. I think he just wanted to let me and Virgil know, then later on that evening he told the whole leadership team. It was a very, very special moment for me.”
“It’s something I worked incredibly hard for – something I set my sights on for a while, and something I’ve not been shy in speaking about: being a leader and being a captain; leading in my way, which is being fearless, always getting on the ball and always trying to make things happen. The competitiveness that I bring to the team, a will to win in training and games, hopefully drags other guys through with me.”
Given Van Dijk’s age, Alexander-Arnold appears likely to succeed him as skipper in the not-too-distant future. He smiles when FFT asked if he’s already begun rehearsing his version of the ‘Hendo shuffle’, the former captain’s distinctive trophy-lifting technique, when it’s his own turn to raise aloft a trinket.
“No, I haven’t thought about it,” he insists. “But I’m sure if that day does come, I’ll need to think of something creative that fits right with me! That’s something I dreamed of as a kid – lifting trophies, being the leader.
“But it’s much more than just being able to lift a trophy at the end of a season. It’s about helping the team get there and things behind the scenes that you have to do as a leader, helping the team to bond and really sacrifice for each other.
"There’s a lot that goes into it. The icing on the cake is lifting trophies at the end. Potentially one day that’ll be something that is a reality for me.”
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