Trent Alexander-Arnold: I’m still a fan first - we realise how much they influence games

Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold has underscored how difficult it has been to play games without supporters, describing the feeling as “empty” as clubs prepare to welcome back a limited number of fans.

Premier League grounds in tier 2 areas, which includes Anfield, will have 2000 scattered in the stands from Thursday in the first step towards filling stadia again.

In a conversation with Arsenal legend Ian Wright for Red Bull, the defender painted the picture of how football has felt without bouncing terraces since March.

“It’s difficult because you don't realise how much fans influence gameplans, like with momentum and the sounds you can hear… I miss the fans so much,” Alexander-Arnold said.

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“Especially with the way we play, someone makes a tackle, even with the manager he gets excited, because the fans are excited.

“And it’s like a knock-on effect. If our intensity’s there the fan’s intensity’s there, and if the fan intensity’s there so is ours.

“It feels empty without them. Even though you know they're watching at home and they're all over the world tuning in, it's not the same without them. Football’s not the same.

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“Obviously times are hard and stuff like that but it's the world we live in right now. I miss the route into the stadium, all the fans there, tens of thousands waiting to greet us every single game.

“No matter what there's at least ten thousand fans just waiting to watch the bus come into the stadium, it's crazy.

“I think I’m still a fan first and foremost. I've always been a fan and maybe I enjoy things more because of that.

“When I'm playing I always look up to where I used to sit and can recall exactly where I was for that first time.

“At Anfield I can point it out to within ten seats even though it’s a new stand now I can picture exactly what angle I was looking at. That may seem unbelievable but it’s true!”

Alexander-Arnold, currently nursing a calf injury which he is close to returning from, detailed what it’s like to take to the Anfield turf, especially on European nights.

“I’m telling you there’s something in the stadium, like spiritual,” the 22-year-old told Wright.

“It’s just something in the atmosphere, you can feel the history, you can feel the force.

“The Barca game was obviously amazing but that Man City game [Champions League in 2018], I've never felt like that.

“The only negative about those nights is you can't speak to your centre back as you can't even hear them. You're screaming at the top of your lungs, and they can't hear you! You're trying to tell them “Your shoulder, watch your shoulder” but they can't hear you. That’s the only negative but it’s a positive really.”

Alexander-Arnold’s first game as a fan was Liverpool’s hosting of Juventus in the quarter-finals of the 2005 Champions League, which they went on to win in Istanbul.

“I remember the roads just before you get to Anfield, hearing the warm-up music,” the right-back said.

“There’s thousands of people and obviously I’m small at this age so I was trying to weave my way through, holding my mum’s hand.

“She’s saying ‘Don’t let go’ as she's dragging you through... you can imagine; the chanting, people running to get in, the horses. But the one image I’ll never ever forget was going into the stadium and going up the stairs to go and find your seat, and you finally get that first glimpse of the pitch.

“I remember standing on the top of the stairs and seeing all the kids stand in the middle and wave the flag. The floodlights were just beaming on the pitch. It was at that moment I knew I had to be on that pitch one day for sure.”