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The Scouse heartbeat of the Liverpool team, sporting a pair of Adidas Predators, stepping up and delivering when his boyhood club really needed him.

It was once the domain of Steven Gerrard. Now it’s Trent Alexander-Arnold territory.

No wonder the German sportswear giants were so keen to lure the Liverpool vice-captain away from his career-long association with Under Armour. A lucrative new boot deal for a player enjoying a new lease of life in a new role.

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No one epitomised the transformation in Liverpool since their last visit to the Etihad in April more than Alexander-Arnold.

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Rewind to that bleak afternoon and the right-back suffered at the hands of Jack Grealish. His confidence had taken a battering as Jurgen Klopp’s brittle side stumbled from one setback to the next.

But it was a week after that chastening 4-1 defeat to Manchester City that Klopp and Pep Lijnders decided to embark on a major tactical shift ahead of the visit of Arsenal.

Alexander-Arnold was moved into a hybrid position, stepping into midfield when Liverpool were in possession to give them an extra man in the centre – effectively turning 4-3-3 into 3-4-3.

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Lijnders was so convinced it would work that he told Klopp he would be willing to give up his salary for a year if it didn’t. The Dutch coach hasn’t been hit in the pocket.

Liverpool have suffered just one defeat in their last 24 Premier League matches and even that was in the most controversial of circumstances given the VAR debacle at Tottenham in September.

The system is designed to give Alexander-Arnold the freedom to get into areas where he can really hurt opponents and he certainly did that on Saturday.

After latching on to Mohamed Salah’s pass on the edge of the box, his first touch was exquisite and his second was even better as he arrowed a shot beyond Ederson before shushing the fans who had previously berated him. “It was funny seeing their faces,” he smiled. Liverpool’s vice-captain had the last laugh.

Clinical, @TrentAA 💥 pic.twitter.com/eZnTu89w9x

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 25, 2023

His first goal since May ended Manchester City’s run of 23 successive home wins and ensured Liverpool still haven’t lost back-to-back league games against City since 1937.

Alexander-Arnold’s influence on the contest was underlined by the fact he had more touches (66) than any of his team-mates. He also gained possession on 10 occasions, more than anyone else on either side.

What a performance from Trent Alexander-Arnold 👏 pic.twitter.com/Xx7OapZ034

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 25, 2023

Few players are scrutinised quite like him — some have an obsession with finding faults rather than recognising his remarkable skill set.

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Yes, he could have done better against Nathan Ake in the build-up to Erling Haaland’s opener, but defensively there was much to admire from him up against the dangerous Jeremy Doku.

“Trent played a really good game, super influential,” said Klopp. “He was really strong in the one-on-one situations.”

Alexander-Arnold felt City’s game plan was to stop him getting on the ball centrally, with Bernardo Silva staying close to him throughout the first half.

During the interval, it was agreed with Klopp that he would pull wider to the right at times, something the manager described as “a little hiding space” for him from where he could pull the strings.

Neither team hit the heights they are capable of — the lunchtime kick-off straight after the international break contributed to this fixture lacking the levels of quality, energy and intensity anticipated.

Alexis Mac Allister admitted he had struggled to stay awake during Klopp’s team meeting on Friday after flying back to Merseyside from South America. Alisson, who left the Etihad limping after pulling up holding his hamstring late on, was uncharacteristically erratic after making the same trip.

But the fact Liverpool emerged with a point from their toughest fixture of the season despite being way off their best is another sign of the significant progress that’s been made.

What a contrast between Klopp’s demeanour post-match at the Etihad on Saturday compared to April. “We were too open, too passive, too far away from everything,” was his damning assessment after that alarming second-half capitulation.

It was a day when Jordan Henderson and Fabinho were comprehensively outfought and outrun as gaping holes in midfield were exposed. Liverpool had just 32 per cent possession and City had eight shots on target compared to one from Liverpool.

Now Alexander-Arnold steps into a midfield department which has been rebuilt and Klopp’s resurgent side is a different beast. On Saturday, they had 40 per cent possession and City had five shots on target compared to three from the visitors.

Despite the fatigue after his travels, Mac Allister was excellent in the No 6 role, winning three tackles, gaining possession eight times and completing 41 of his 43 passes (93 per cent). Dominik Szoboszlai didn’t sparkle as he can but still completed 22 of his 25 passes (88 per cent) and his athleticism makes him such an asset.

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It was too easy for City to play through Liverpool in the opening 45 minutes, but in the second half, the visitors were much more compact. The introduction of Ryan Gravenberch and Luis Diaz off the bench helped. “The second half was much better from us,” said Mac Allister. “We won more challenges. It was important to have the ball more.”

Just look at the difference in the pass networks between April and Saturday. Each player’s dot shows the average starting location of their passes between the opening whistle and their team’s first substitution. The bigger the dot, the more passes that player attempted.

The red-yellow-green colour scale shows possession value and how much certain pass links or passers increased the team’s likelihood of scoring by moving the ball closer to the opponents’ goal.

Liverpool were higher up the pitch on Saturday and there was more structure to their play, but there’s also been a major shift in their mentality. Klopp’s side have rescued 12 points from losing positions in the top flight this season, more than any other team. There’s a backbone there that simply didn’t exist in April.  They don’t want to be playing catch-up so often, but you have to admire their resilience.

“Last season we had no real chance in this game. Today we had a chance,” added Klopp.

“It’s not that I look at ourselves and think, ‘OK, that’s the finished article, that’s how we can play’ because I saw a lot of performances I was not overly happy with, but the attitude was still good. It was a super difficult week, 10 days away, coming back, one training session and then the most difficult game.”

Liverpool were indebted to their home-grown hero who christened those new boots in style.

(Top photo: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

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