HE may not yet know the intricacies of their card school, but Alberto Aquilani has already shown he can potentially be Liverpool’s ace in the pack on the pitch.

The long wait was ended on Wednesday night when the £20million signing from Roma made a first competitive appearance for his new club at the Emirates.

Aquilani only emerged as a 77th-minute substitute, but there was enough promise during his brief cameo to generate genuine excitement among the travelling hordes.

The Italian produced some fine touches, showed great vision with one pass to Philipp Degen and was only denied an injury-time penalty by myopic referee Alan Wiley when his spectacular overhead kick was clearly handled by Philippe Senderos.

And Dirk Kuyt reveals that while the 25-year-old remains an unknown quantity to many supporters, he has already ingratiated himself with his new team-mates.

“We are pleased to see Alberto play,” says the Dutchman. “We’ve known him for a while around the club but this was his first game, and hopefully we can see a lot more of him.

“He’s a nice lad on and off the pitch. He told us he couldn’t wait to start, so it’s good for him and for us that he can finally play.

“He has tried to be involved not only in training but also off the field. He tried to play cards with us on the way down to London and pick up the language. And to be honest, he’s learning pretty quickly for an Italian!”

With Aquilani’s arrival coinciding with the departure of Xabi Alonso in August, the temptation has been to regard the Italian as a direct replacement, particularly given the great expectations that have built during the prolonged build-up to his Liverpool bow.

But Kuyt’s advice is simply for Aquilani to remember why Anfield manager Rafael Benitez ventured where Arsene Wenger wouldn’t by making the Italian the second-most expensive signing in Liverpool’s history.