State that Trent Alexander-Arnold successfully auditions for the role of a potential television expert

Trent Alexander-Arnold had some interesting ideas while talking to Jamie Carragher. Photo: Getty Images/Paul Ellis

The overall verdict was a good day for Liverpool and also a worthy Easter Sunday for one of Anfield's favorite sons as Trent Alexander-Arnold excelled off the pitch in the extended match with Sky Sports. Alexander-Arnold, who was unavailable for selection against Brighton due to a knee injury, had a deep and insightful chat with Jamie Carragher before the match, full of thoughtful detail about the instructions players receive in preparation and how they do it do. this and what they get from it, who trains better with each other and so on.

He came across as a great guy, smart and sensible, but at the same time charismatic and pleasant to talk to. After the segment ended, Sky's David Jones said: «He immediately looked natural on the microphone.» True. And Jones would know: not only is he a highly skilled cameraman, but he is also getting more and more access and screen time with the Premier League's star players.

'You need to make sure you're ready» 🙌

Trent Alexander-Arnold on pre-match preparation 👇 pic.twitter.com/Q2NyiqUlPo

There's no doubt that this generation of elite footballers is more comfortable talking and communicating better than any previous one: the days of «well, Brian, I kicked the ball the first time and there it was in the back of the net» — post-Character Match Analysis Monty Python's John Cleese and Jimmy Buzzard are a distant memory. Determining which current players will be the TV stars of the future has been a fun house game for a while, but the competition is certainly getting tougher and it might not be too much of a stretch to suggest that Sky is holding some informal auditions and screen tests to recruit list of experts of tomorrow. Sort of like a screen testing team, if you will.

Monday Night Football has been able to get in-depth interviews with the game's best players over the past couple of years, and several players have really come into their own. Among the outstanding people were James Maddison, deeply confident in his genius; Conor Coady, statesman; Patrick Bamford, a very good man to take home to his mother. Jones and Carragher are great at getting the best out of these guys and you can see any of them, plus a few others like Bukayo Saka, being on TV for years to come if they so choose.

James Maddison is the best interview in the league in my opinion… a player with a huge personality! 👍🏻

People complain that players are robots, this honesty is worth watching! 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/9TKOi6s71q

— Joe Tomlinson (@joethomlinson) January 20, 2021

Theo Walcott (35 but still as fresh as ever) comes from a slightly different background, Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge get along well at Sky studios, with the latter two particularly already well established. I have no idea about their personal finances, but one can imagine that over 200 Premier League appearances since the mid-2000s, as Richards did, would give you the opportunity of a lifetime, but perhaps not as much wealth like a healthy salary. from Sky would not be welcome? But for the generations of Premier League megabucks after them, given average luck and prudence… Sky Sports certainly won't be able to realistically find that kind of sum to make a difference to, say, Saka's family funds after his playing career.

If this group of top Premier League players decide to work on television, it will be for pleasure or fulfillment, not just for the money. But don't write off the old guard just yet. A consistently funny part of the regular business at Sky Sports is when they get the dutiful Jones to read out commercials for upcoming non-sporting programmes, in this case Sky's Game of Thrones swords and dragons drama House of the Dragon. Little Theo Walcott, who is allowed to attend the show as long as he brushes his teeth, has proven himself to be a fan. Roy Keane — can I just shock you? — did not have. He seemed to rate this fantastic nonsense somewhere below that of an inexperienced midfielder. I have it on good authority that Roy in the flesh is a terrific guy who doesn't have a side, but he's still more than happy to play the on-screen role of a belligerent old coot in a dressing gown ordering the young neighbors to shut down this damn racket. If Skye really wants to go down the crossover route, let's do this: they already have their own fire-breathing mythical beast that they can sic on Ser Mika and Ser Theos of tomorrow.