If there is a debate about the best right-backs on the planet right now, one name that is guaranteed to make the list is Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool defender has been a key figure in Liverpool’s title and trophy aspirations for a few years now.
The journey of this 25-year-old talent is quite a humble one. It starts with his school at St. Mary’s when his name got picked out of a hat to kick the ball around in front of the Merseyside academy coaches.
Impressed coach asked his mother to bring him around to have a better look at the lad, transferring him to Rainhill school with links to Liverpool F.C.
His coaches admired his determination from a very young age and held considerable bit of sway over him. Trent has mentioned that his coaches drilled him hard and taught him not to take everything for granted.
You can put him in situations within training where you know he might fail. As long as you let him know the reasons why you’re doing it, he can see the reasoning behind it. We did it because we knew he had the potential to go on and be a top player and we thought that was the best way of helping him. It was tough, but we made it tough for a reason.
– Critchley, Liverpool academy coach
When he was chosen for the senior squad at just 18 years of age, his coaches never told him that he is a regular from then on. They made him work every day to save his spot in the big leagues. He didn’t know if the next day he would be sent back to academy.
Family influence is probably the biggest on Trent’s life. He is and has always been a family oriented guy. The player had admitted in an interview that it’s his family that keeps him grounded. He had said that he likes living with his family and contributes to household chores.
The Liverpool star was born and bred in Liverpool and has always been a Reds fan. The full-back was an excited six-year-old cheering from the streets when the triumphant team returned from Istanbul clutching the European Cup in 2005. That is what made him want to be a Liverpool legend.
Just thinking back to when I was a kid and how that motivated me; seeing the parade always motivated me to want to achieve those things.
The No.66 told Liverpoolfc.com
He was born to Michael Arnold and Dianna Arnold in the West Derby suburb of Liverpool, just a 10-minute drive away from the stadium. The parents are both supposedly of Zimbabwean descent. He now manages operations at Trent’s company, All Star Sports Ltd.
His mother has been a huge influence on him. She not only keeps him in check but has also taught him the value of community. According to her, community is everything, and it is due to these values that Trent is found helping around in the food banks and charity homes near his place.
We keep his feet on the ground. My boy is playing against Ronaldo? Are you having a laugh!
Dianna, Trent’s mom
I still cannot believe it. A friend told me, ‘Stevie Gerrard has written about Trent in his book’ and I said, ‘no way’.
Currently, the player lives in a home that he bought in 2020 in Cheshire, with his mom. His mom still reminds him about tiny little details like putting on sunscreen before the match or to have his meals on time. She has taught her boy discipline that he is extremely grateful about.
His parents have three kids, with Trent being the middle child. All three siblings were interested in football. The elder brother of Trent, Tyler, is four years older than him and works as his agent. His younger brother, Marcel, is three years younger than him and is in school.
His brothers were his playmates and he learnt from them a lot, knowingly and unknowingly. They used to kick about with Trent and play in the Sunday leagues too. But later on when they realized that their brother has more of a chance to be in the top 1%, and their mother couldn’t handle them all at once, they gave up on their games to take Trent to his.
I know how hard it must have been for them to sacrifice their dreams for mine, without having any clue over the end result.
Trent had said about his brothers in an interview with MR PORTER.
Trent’s uncle, John Alexander, was a club secretary at Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson had once asked him about why he didn’t join United, but the youngster had told him: “My mum doesn’t drive on motorways.”
Trent is thankful that his parents have drilled the value of education into their children from the beginning. They never force-fed Trent football or education but always wanted him to have a basic level of education.
This served as a backup plan as well as having life-serving knowledge, according to him. Even while sharing his thoughts about racism that he faced, he used education as the answer to the issue.
For me, education is so important to all of this, because that’s where a lot of issues stem from. No one is born racist and comes into this world thinking that you deserve certain privileges based on skin colour or that you don’t deserve certain privileges based on skin colour. You get taught that.
Trent on the issue of racism
His family can be seen with him at every step of the way. They were supportive of him when he lost the UCL final to Real Madrid and faced racial abuse, and they were there with him celebrating when he won it in Madrid against Tottenham.
Trent had mentioned that after the loss, he just wanted to win it for his family, and that is what was going on in his mind the whole of the next season.
When we won the Champions League against Tottenham in Madrid and I said I was just a normal lad from Liverpool whose dream had come true, that’s what I meant. I was able to share that success with my family. The picture in my head became reality.
His mother feels proud that they are all now recognized as Trent’s parents and siblings and that her son’s name is mentioned by the likes of Steven Gerrard.
Trent believes that young footballers nowadays move out of their parents’ house early, and then they have nothing to discipline them or to keep them down to earth. He remains ever so grateful to all the people that have made him into the person he is today.