Eye to eye | Book 2 - Trent Alexander Arnold

Chapter 9🤍

Anfield Stadium📍| 2:30pm

Today was the match which Trent had been the most on edge about. They just needed a win which they were more than confident that they could achieve. With the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland and Rodri, city were a hard team to beat. Sure arsenal had good players too, all teams did, but the pressure was on Liverpool this afternoon to make sure they secured their spot in first place. Trent's took deep breaths trying not to get to ahead of himself. If there was anything in the world he hated more than his family being hurt or in danger, it was losing. Not winning made him feel weak. It made him feel as though he had disappointed the people he loved. Growing up in a house full of boys only drove his competitiveness more and how he would react when things didn't go his way most likely stemmed from those moments. Even playing games like monopoly or uno, he had to be the winner. He always said to Ella, 'It will be 18 years before the kids ever beat me at something,' which she would roll her eyes at. What made him more determined to win today was that Tahj and Tayah would be here and even though they were only about the turn three months old soon, he didn't want to feel like a failure. Ella was always supportive of him no matter if he won, drew or lost so he felt more at peace now. She could always give him criticism and he would take it head on.

"Come on boys." Klopp motivated the team, clapping his hands to earn the attention of everyone in the room. He didn't know what the results were going to be but he knew his players and the skills and talents that they all individually possessed. He was confident in them even if some were not confident in themselves. "Show them who you are. You are Liverpool. Show them where they are. This is Anfield. Not matter what the result is today, we will fight. We will use our passion and the next game we will be even stronger." He scanned everyones face, making sure they were ready for the challenge ahead.
"Come on boys, let's go get ready for the tunnel." He began towards the door, followed be a line of players behind him.

In the tunnel, he could only think about how he was going to play. He was going to try his best no matter what. Even if the result wasn't in their favour at the end of the day, at least no one can say they weren't prepared or not doing enough. Crowds roared as the teams came out. They even lined up before each shaking hands and finally hearing the whistle blow.

Watching attentively, Ella was sat in the boxes with Tyler, Marcell, Diane and the babies. She knew how important this game was for Trent and wanted it to go their way desperately. Diane and the brothers chuckled a seeing how invested she was everytime she would come to his matches which was every home game, tournaments plus international games. If they did lose today, Ella was going to sure that Trent felt loved and supported by everyone around him. She would be there to hold his hand through his misery and when they got home she would give him cuddles. When it came to losing finals, Trent would often need so space for at most an hour before he would eventually give into Ella's hug and kisses. Football having been in engraved in her as a child, she knew all about the tactics. When Trent asked, she would give her honest opinion on how she thought he played whether it was positive or negative. He needed to hear it even though he had most probably heard it for his coaches already. Every huff and sigh she let out only made Diane love her more. She was what Trent needed but right now he also needed to win.

The first half was strong from the Liverpool men as they were able to dispossess the city team on more occasions than none. Salah moved gracefully with the ball at his feet, running forward and making passes to whoever was infront of him and if no one was there, then he'd take the shot. Trent moved into midfield as instructed by Klopp and Lijnders causing him to receive the ball more and create more chances. Creating chances was something that Trent excelled at and not to mention his passing range and ability. Catching the reds off guard, Rodri was able to steal the ball away from Mac Allister, charging through the Liverpool team, passing it to to De Bruyne how made an incredible cross to Erling Haaland in the 33' minute. Alisson couldn't do much to prevent the ball from flying inside the net making Klopp's men vulnerable to a loss and getting knocked off the top of the table. 45' minutes had passed with only 2 minutes of additional time being given. They couldn't do much as city had now gained back their momentum and Robbo's leg was beginning to act up again. 0-1 to city.