Esme Faragher, from Ballabeg, lived out every Liverpool fan’s dream and walked out at Anfield with her favourite team.

Esme was a ‘player buddy’ for the Merseyside outfit’s Premier League match against first-placed Arsenal on April 9, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

Esme’s dad, Peter Faragher, said: ‘She walked out with Curtis Jones and wished him good luck for the game which must have worked as he helped set up Liverpool’s first goal on the day.’

Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino scored for Liverpool but were held to a point thanks to goals from Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus.

Liverpool had run a competition for its supporters in 2020 for fans to post a video of their best goal celebration and they would choose four winners to be ‘player buddies’, who walk out onto the pitch with the squad before a game.

Esme was one of the four selected from the competition to lead the team in their game against Bournemouth on March 7, 2020.

Peter said: ‘We had already travelled from the island and were over in Liverpool on the day before the game when I received a call to say that due to newly-introduced Covid restrictions, player buddies were no longer allowed.

‘As you can imagine Es was gutted but we were still able to attend the game as spectators.’

The game finished 2-1 with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane winning it for the Reds.

This was one of the last games at Anfield before they started playing behind closed doors due to the Covid restrictions in the UK, with Liverpool winning the league that season.

Peter said: ‘Esme loved it and if anything with her now being 10, she was able to appreciate the whole experience even more than she would have three years ago.’