Trent Alexander-Arnold has made a candid admission about his current career juncture, having recently hit a significant personal milestone.
A day after the Liverpool defender turned 25 earlier this month, he played his 300th game in senior football (280 for his club, plus 20 England caps – he got his 21st against Australia last Friday) in the Reds’ 2-2 draw at Brighton.
The Scouser was speaking to Channel 4 (via 90min) ahead of his country’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy tonight when he acknowledged that he no longer regards himself as a young player.
Trent outlined: “I’ve got high dreams and ambitions, and although I’ve achieved a lot of them, there’s still so much more that I want to achieve. It’s about going and doing that.
“I’ve realised, for me, I’m not a young player anymore. [I’m] getting into hopefully the peak years of my career and how can I get the best out of that? I’m the one that’s responsible for it, I’m the one that can make that happen.
“I’ve always felt like I’ve been in control of what I can go and achieve as a player. I just needed the opportunities to go and do that.”
Having nailed down a regular place in the Liverpool first team while still a teenager, it can be easy to fall into the trap of characterising Trent as a footballing Peter Pan who’s forever regarded as a youngster.
However, he’s already among the top 75 appearance makers of all time for the Reds just seven years after making his senior debut (lfchistory.net). If he remains a one-club man for the rest of his career, he could easily be in the top 10 by the time he retires.
He’s surpassed 200 Premier League games and 50 in the Champions League (Transfermarkt), along with appearing in two World Cups for England, so he boasts an abundance of high-level experience.
Trent has already proven capable of controlling games for Liverpool, but at 25, you can see why he’s now determined to be a consistent difference maker at Anfield and, quite possibly, something of a mentor to those who are following in his footsteps of coming through the academy ranks.
If he can remain clear of long-term injuries, which thankfully he has up to this point, the Reds’ number 66 could have plenty more chapters to add to an already rich tale as an elite level footballer.