A new group of under-9s have joined Liverpool, and to help them celebrate signing their first deals with the club, Trent Alexander-Arnold sat down for an AMA.
Like those just joining the Reds in the youngest age group, Trent hoped his U9s contract would one day lead to a place in the first team.
Now 21, he is one of few that has managed to cement himself as a regular at Anfield having come up through the academy, with Curtis Jones the next scouser aiming to follow him.
With life in lockdown for now, Liverpool could not hold their normal party for the new U9s intake, instead doing so via Zoom with the youngsters at home.
Alex Inglethorpe was among those to join the video chat, telling the youths, “at the academy we’ve got a proud tradition of producing players capable of winning the best trophies in the game.”
Trent is a Champions League winner and soon-to-be Premier League champion, so served as the perfect subject for an AMA with the kids.
The questions included which sport he would have chosen if he wasn’t a footballer (tennis), who has been his toughest opponent yet (Lionel Messi) and how much FIFA he has played during lockdown (“not too much,” he claimed).
One told Trent that “I like Curtis Jones better because he went to my primary school,” while another asked him “who do you like better, Ian Barrigan or Steve Gorst?”
Barrigan, Liverpool’s head of academy recruitment, and Gorst, pre-academy assistant, were also on the call, and Trent praised their influence on his career.
“They both helped me so much growing up, and were always there for me and always gave amazing advice,” he explained.
“So it’s important that everyone listens to them!
“I got lucky in terms of getting the opportunity, but obviously they saw something in me when I first came up and since then I’ve been a Liverpool player, and hopefully I’ll be able to do another 12 years at the club.”
He also revealed his favourite meal (“spaghetti bolognese, I eat it the night before a game”), whether he or Andy Robertson is the better full-back (“I don’t know!”) and the best thing about the academy (“being able to learn so much every day and enjoying it”).
One youngster even asked him how many girlfriends he has and which of his team-mates’ girlfriend is the best looking (no comment, of course), while another wanted to know if Trent has a private jet (“no!”).
It is an entertaining watch, and gave the U9s an opportunity to speak to a player who was once in their footsteps—and could even be a team-mate in the future.
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