Trent Alexander-Arnold: Liverpool captain.
That was what we saw for the final three minutes of Liverpool’s incredible 4-2 win against Manchester United last night.
When Gini Wijnaldum went off in the 74th minute, he handed the armband to Alexander-Arnold.
However, the Scouser quickly passed it on to Mohamed Salah.
This comes a few months after the Egyptian said that he was “very disappointed” (per AS) to not be chosen to be captain in the Champions League dead rubber against Midtjylland.
Instead, it was Alexander-Arnold who received the honour. This was because Jurgen Klopp believed that he was the longest-serving player in the starting XI.
Liverpool have four players in a “leadership group”. These are Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Virgil van Dijk and Gini Wijnaldum.
When none of the four are playing, the armband goes to the player that has been at the club the longest, according to Klopp in The Guardian.
So, it was interesting to see Salah with the armband even though Roberto Firmino was the longest-serving Red on the pitch. The old way of choosing appears to have been abandoned.
Alexander-Arnold is clearly seen as a leader in the squad
When Salah himself went off, the armband ended up with Alexander-Arnold.
There was no passing it on this time around.
Admittedly, he wore the armband for less than three minutes. It may have just been him chosen merely because he was the closest player to the touchline.
But if Jurgen Klopp did decide that he was next in line to be captain, it is a big honour for him.
It will be interesting to see how things go next season.
Wijnaldum is set to leave, while it is possible that James Milner will too. Even if the Englishman does not go, he will most likely play much less frequently.
Henderson is over 30 now, so will need to get regular rest. With van Dijk returning from a huge injury, he will not be able to play every single game either.
So the likelihood is that we will see Alexander-Arnold with the captain’s armband more often.
He has lots of experience in the role, having led numerous of Liverpool’s academy sides.
Of course, he will be most people’s choice to be the permanent captain once Henderson moves on.
Hopefully, that won’t be for at least two or three years yet, so when he does go, Alexander-Arnold should be the obvious candidate.
The 22-year-old himself has said that it is his dream. The story writes itself. A local lad captaining his boyhood club to numerous trophies.
It now looks like we could see it sooner rather than later.
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