Trent Alexander-Arnold believes Liverpool possess all the necessary ingredients to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title this season.
The Reds sit just one point behind the reigning champions and current league leaders as they prepare to face them at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
That position is testament to the strides Jurgen Klopp‘s side have taken since finishing four places and 22 points behind their weekend opponents in May.
And Alexander-Arnold has seen enough across a promising start to suggest that he and his teammates can go on to engage City in a familiar battle for supremacy.
He said: “Our aim as a team is to win the league and that’s the aim again this season. Last season wasn’t good enough.
“We brought new players in, it was about adapting as quick as possible and making sure we laid a good foundation at the start of the season.
“We are in a really strong position and results and form-wise we are doing enough to stay as close as possible to the top of the table.
“The league isn’t won yet, there are still a lot of games to play, but so far we’ve performed in a way that is how you would expect someone who can win the league to perform and if we carry this on we should be in and around it come May.”
Talk of a title charge may perhaps come as a surprise to some given Liverpool are coming off the back of a fifth-placed finish that meant they missed out on Champions League qualification.
But Alexander-Arnold is convinced that a squad that underwent significant surgery over the summer can do so much more than simply push for the top four.
He added: “Being in three campaigns where we should have won the league if it wasn’t for City, obviously we won one but were close in two more, you get a feeling for what you know you are capable of doing.
“Looking around the dressing room, looking at the players we have got, the team, the spirit, the vibe around the team, that [challenging for the league] is something that we feel is achievable.
“If that wasn’t the case, I would be here saying, ‘I want to get back in the top four’. Because, genuinely, there is nothing wrong with that for this team.
“A team that has just finished outside the Champions League places, there is a rebuild going on, and new players and a lot of senior players have left, it would be very normal to say, ‘get back in the top four and push on from there’.
“But [challenging] is something that we believe we can achieve, that is where our sights are at, if it doesn’t happen, we have ourselves to blame and we will focus on that if it happens.
“Right now we have put ourselves in a good position, we have built a great foundation it is just about consistency.
“The hardest thing in football is consistently winning games, but we have shown again in a big challenge today that we are more than capable of passing it.”
Indeed, Liverpool’s struggles last season certainly led many fans to lower their expectations, with many declaring a return to the Champions League as the main aim for this campaign.
However, Alexander-Arnold insists he has never bought into that, and made sure that the club’s newest acquisitions quickly knew what would be asked of them.
He said: “Our ambition is to be as successful as possible and to maximise the potential we have got as a team and as a club.
“At the start of last season it was the same as at the start of this season: our ambition was to win the league.
“We were nowhere near good enough to get anywhere near that last year and that’s where we needed to put it right this year.
“I think the players who are experienced in being successful with the club all understand what it takes and what’s needed to even challenge a team like City it was about getting that message across as quick as possible to the new players and young players coming in.
“That responsibility of we need everyone to perform and if we do get players who play really well over the course of the season it will get us closer to the top of the table.
“Last season there were too many of us guys who never hit the levels we were expected to and demand of each other, ultimately that’s how you end up being in fifth place.”
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