The Red Bulletin June 2020 (US)

78
Soccer player, 21, GBR.
The Liverpool and England ace is considered
to be one of the best right-backs in the world.
Trent
Alexander-Arnold
79
Ryan
Pessoa
Esports athlete, 22, GBR.
The 2018 FIFA world No. 1 on Xbox is signed
to Manchester City’s esports team.
GREG COLEMAN/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, MARK ROE/RED BULL CONTENT POOL TOM GUISE
commentaryV
Match
With the Premier League temporarily frozen
and the FIFA esports season canceled, two
stars of the respective soccer worlds logged
on for a game of Friday-night FIFA.
We mere mortals may not be able to jog
out onto the hallowed turf at Anfield,
but we can all play as Liverpool’s number
66—Trent Alexander-Arnold—in FIFA, a
video game that meticulously maps the
skills of real-life soccer stars. But does
Trent think the game does him justice?
Ryan Pessoa found out as he interrogated
the Champions League-winning right-back
during their live match-up on Twitch. The
final tally? Two wins to Pessoa and a draw.
But how did Trent score on answers?
ryan pessoa: Who is faster in real life,
you or [Liverpool midfielder] Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain?
trent alexander-arnold: I am. He got
the injury that took a bit off his pace.
Did FIFA do you dirty with your pace?
Yeah, massively. That’s the one attribute
[player stat that influences performance]
I was gutted about. Maybe passing, too.
Who are you isolating with?
It’s just me and my mum. I have two dogs
and they’re keeping us sane.
Same with me. It must be different for
you, because you’re used to being out
training and playing most days, but it’s
my job to just sit here and play games.
My life hasn’t changed too much either.
I’m always just chilling at home or trying
to recover from games.
Would you say that you’re good at
playing FIFA?
I spend a lot of my time in hotels—two
or three nights per week—and play FIFA
maybe five or six hours a week. I’m
decent for an amateur. I’m quite good
at defending, quite patient.
You see, your skills do transfer from
real life to the game.
We had a FIFA tournament a few years
ago at England, and [Eric] Dier won that
one. He’s decent.
What was going through your head
when you took that quick corner
[which led to the winning goal against
Barcelona in the Champions League]?
Er, take the corner quickly? Ha! No, I just
spotted an opportunity. I saw they weren’t
switched on. It was just in the moment—
seeing an opportunity and taking it.
twitch.tv/ryanpessoa_
THE RED BULLETIN 83