Alexander-Arnold fit and raring to go for Liverpool

The
right-back,
who
signed
a
new
long-term
contract
at
Anfield
in
July,
suffered
a
thigh
injury
in
June,
forcing
him
to
pull
out
of
England’s
Euro
2020
squad.

Alexander-Arnold
has
been
eased
back
into
pre-season
action
and
finally
completed
a
full
90-minute
outing
in
Sunday’s
1-1
draw
with
Athletic
Bilbao.

“Yes,
definitely,”
the
22-year-old
responded
when
asked
if
he
was
100
per
cent
ready.
“I’ve
started
pre-season
quite
well,
in
training
I’ve
been
putting
the
work
in,
got
the
all-clear
from
the
medical
staff
early
doors
in
pre-season
and
have
been
able
to
push
on,
get
fit
and
get
the
full
90
under
my
belt
today.

“I
think
we’ve
timed
it
well
and
it
gives
us
a
good
couple
of
days
to
recover
and
then
go
on
to
Norwich
next
week.”

Jurgen
Klopp
provided
Alexander-Arnold
his
opportunity
down
the
right
flank
and
the
wing-back
has
appeared
in
over
40
games
a
season
for
the
last
three
campaigns
–
in
which
time
the
Reds
have
won
the
Champions
League
and
the
Premier
League.

Since
the
start
of
2018-19,
no
Liverpool
player
has
created
more
chances
than
Alexander
Arnold’s
212,
while
he
also
leads
the
assist
charts
with
32
in
that
period.

Despite
failing
to
recreate
his
best
form
from
the
2019-20
season
which
saw
him
net
four
times
and
provided
13
assists,
Alexander-Arnold
still
managed
34
starts
and
two
goals
last
campaign
but
was
part
of
a
defence
hampered
by
the
absence
of
Virgil
van
Dijk
and
Joe
Gomez
as
Liverpool
failed
to
retain
their
top-flight
crown.

But
Klopp
has
potential
problems
ahead
of
the
Norwich
opener
on
the
other
flank,
with
Andrew
Robertson
sustaining
a
suspected
ankle
injury
in
Sunday’s
outing
against
Bilbao.

“No,
I
haven’t
seen
him,
to
be
fair,
but
I
think
you
know
it’s
going
to
be
quite
bad
if
Robbo
has
to
come
off,”
Alexander-Arnold
said
after
being
asked
if
he
had
spoken
to
his
full-back
partner.

“It’s
not
something
that
he
normally
does
so
it’s
disappointing
to
see,
but
I’m
sure
he
will
bounce
back
as
soon
as
he
can.”

With
or
without
Robertson,
after
a
taste
of
the
Anfield
crowd
returning
for
the
Bilbao
friendly,
Alexander-Arnold
is
excited
to
perform
in
front
of
them
during
the
2021-22
term.

“This
is
the
moment
we’ve
been
waiting
for,”
he
added
on
seeing
a
near-full
Anfield.
“Obviously
last
season
it
was
very
quiet
in
here
but
to
have
the
fans
back
today
was
special
for
us
all.
We’ve
all
been
waiting
for
this
moment.”