Klopp: Liverpool boy Alexander-Arnold responsible for “pretty much everything”
Jurgen Klopp believes the fact Trent Alexander-Arnold is from Liverpool makes the right back “responsible for pretty much everything” when pulling on the red shirt.
Alexander-Arnold will make his 99th appearance for Liverpool if he plays against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday after recovering from the illness that saw him miss Wednesday’s Champions League win in Genk.
Why is Alexander-Arnold’s 100th appearance significant? Five things to know…
- Alexander-Arnold is closing in on his 100th Liverpool appearance.
- He has played more games for the club than Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher at 21.
- Like those players, being from Liverpool gives Alexander-Arnold’s rise to the top extra significance.
- The 21-year-old set a record for Premier League assists registered by a defender last season (12).
- Klopp has praised the right-back for shouldering the burden of his roots.
The 21-year-old has been a key part of Liverpool’s journey to being champions of Europe under Klopp, providing the team with a potent attacking threat down the right flank domestically and in Europe.
Being from Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold is adored by the supporters, but Klopp has noted that the defender’s roots put an extra burden on him to perform for his boyhood club.
“Trent has a mix of personal education, football education, character, skills, attitude, mentality, and he is on top of all that. He is absolutely a scouser in the best understanding,” Klopp said.
“It’s a big task and a big job to be a scouser as a Liverpool player because you are responsible for pretty much everything. So he has all the good things.
“On the outside, when you are a scouser in the Liverpool team it makes the game away at Manchester United even more difficult because everyone is talking to you the whole week about that and we will see the same again next year away.
“Apart from that he is so impressive. When I first saw him, I saw that this is something special but he had to work hard to make that really obvious. It’s really a pleasure to work with him to be honest. He is very aggressive in a positive way.”
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Klopp warns Liverpool to stay sharp against Spurs
Liverpool go into Sunday’s meeting with Spurs aiming to keep up their unbeaten start to the season after their 100 per cent record was ended by Manchester United last weekend.
Klopp went on to talk about the Old Trafford crowd’s response to Liverpool’s equaliser, and warned his team about the shift in atmosphere that could happen at Anfield if Tottenham score this weekend.
The German added: “If you win the gold medal at the Olympic Games you don’t win the gold medal again next time because you won it last time. You win it because you ran quicker than the others again. That is exactly how sports work.
“The only thing we have to respect and use is the good things we do in home games. We do not do it only in home games, but have this run because we put in a specific mix of attitude and the potential of the boys, plus the crowd. That can make life difficult.
“We saw that in Manchester last week. The Manchester crowd was really good until we scored the equaliser and then it was [clicks finger] done. That is something that is different here. OK, somebody can score an equaliser but it does not mean we cannot win the game any more.
“These are the things we have to keep. We all worked for it and deserve it and earned it together but can not take it for granted. Against Tottenham especially.”