Trent Alexander-Arnold once again wore the captain’s armband in Virgil van Dijk’s absence at Arsenal and showed why he trusts Conor Bradley’s advice.
Alexander-Arnold captained the Emirates in the third round when Van Dijk left London due to illness ahead of Sunday’s game. It is not the first time he has worn the armband, having been named vice-captain following the departures of Jordan Henderson and James Milner last summer.
But it was typical of a right-back captain and, as Bradley explained in his post-match interview, he guided his young team-mates throughout the game.
Bradley replaced Harvey Elliott in the 75th minute and with the score 0-0 he allowed Alexander-Arnold to move into midfield. That means he will have to play against Gabriel Martinelli.
“I was just trying to push,” the 20-year-old told LFCTV. “As soon as I got in, Trent told me to force him and then he would come and lock me up.“Every time he tried to attack me, I tried to force him inside.
I’m glad I thought I did a good job against him.” Alexander-Arnold turned 25 in October and is still one of the youngest players in the squad but is just two games away from reaching 300 appearances for Liverpool.
That puts him in a strong position to take the lead, especially for a right-back like Bradley, who impressed when his cross put Jakub Kivior into his own goal to make it 1-0.“I can’t believe how he can throw that away.
“Every corner kick, every free kick we know is a good opportunity to score,” Bradley said.”We were happy to score the first goal and then the second and the game was over.”
Both Bradley and Bobby Clarke were crucial to Liverpool’s place in the fourth round and the young midfielder joined his academy colleague for an interview.
Clarke, who was later criticized by fans for a tactical foul on Declan Rice which did not give Arsenal a break, said he had spoken to Jurgen Klopp before kick-off.”He just said, ‘Defend well, get the ball and express yourself,’” the 18-year-old said. “[I] had to be 100%.
“They’re all world-class players for sure, so they should be playing all the time.””I feel really good,” Clark said. “Now I’m here with Conor. I played with him for a while at the academy and it’s a good feeling.” There are definitely some [nerves]!”
