Trent Alexander-Arnold returns to Anfield with Real Madrid on Tuesday for the first time since leaving Liverpool last summer, with the Reds and their fans missing the right-back more than they might care to admit.
Almost six months have passed since Alexander-Arnold confirmed one of football’s worst-kept secrets by announcing that, unlike Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, he will not be signing a new contract with the club in order to, he said, Prime Video Sports before the game, to go after a “new challenge” in the Spanish capital.
That this was a local boy and team vice-captain with a 20-plus year association with the Reds meant that feelings were raw on Merseyside, even the defender booed some of his fans after coming on as a substitute against Arsenal at Anfield in the first game following the announcement.
Some even scoffed at Alexander-Arnold’s claim that it was part of his reason for joining The Whites was to help him win the Ballon d’Or, no doubt some Liverpool fans were watching him closely, even secretly hoping he would fail at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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Jamie Carragher has spoken candidly about how it annoys him that other people are ‘telling’ Liverpool fans how they should feel about Trent Alexander-Arnold’s imminent departure from the club
Early on, the 27-year-old impressed both on and off the pitch, addressing the Madrid faithful and president Florentino Perez in Spanish at his unveiling in June, before making one of his trademark crosses from the right. Gonzalo Garcia’s winner against Juventus in the round of 16 of the Club World Cup next month.
Real Madrid footballers Arda Guler and Trent Alexander-Arnold celebrate a goal during the Club World Cup
However, things haven’t gone so smoothly since then, with Alexander-Arnold restricted to just 156 minutes Total action so far this season – no goals and no assists – as new Real head coach Xabi Alonso initially rotated England international Dani Carvajal at right-back following the captain’s return from a lengthy ACL layoff.
Trent Alexander-Arnold at the presentation of Real Madrid last summer
A hamstring injury just five minutes into Real’s Champions League clash against Marseille in September didn’t help, and when Alexander-Arnold was then left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for that month’s World Cup qualifiers with Andorra and Serbia, there may have been a bit of jubilation in certain sections of the Reds’ fan base without the then-undefeated champions.
But much has changed since then, after Liverpool’s title defense faltered four consecutive leagues the defeats have knocked Arne Slott’s side out of top spot in the Premier League, while they are only 10th in the Champions League table ahead of a visit to a Real side who have lost just once in all competitions so far under Alonso.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from the Premier League match between Liverpool and Aston Villa
Madrid’s arrival on Merseyside for a rematch with Liverpool, who beat Carlo Ancelotti’s side convincingly 2-0 at Anfield last November, now adds spice to Alexander-Arnold’s return from injury and competition with midfielder Federico Valverde to start against his boyhood club after Carvajal’s run on the right-hand side of the national team likely saw him rested by Spain for an arthroscopy. year.
“Mixed emotions, however I’m received, it’s the fans’ decision,” he said of his return home.
“No matter what, my feelings about Liverpool will not change. I have memories there that will last me a lifetime and, no matter how they receive me, that will not change.”
It threatens to be an uncomfortable night for the Reds faithful, though, as not only could their right-back help inflict another defeat on his former side, but his mere presence at Anfield could remind them of what they’ve been missing at times this season.
For starters, defensively Liverpool have been conceding goals at an alarming rate, with Slott going through right-backs like they’ve gone out of style, while the Dutchman tries to agree who should be Alexander-Arnold’s successor.
Connor Bradley was slated for the role but struggled when fit ski sports Gary Neville questions his place in the side after the 3-2 defeat at Brentford: “I’m backing Bradley but it’s difficult when your team is conceding goals and there’s pressure.
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Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher reacts to Trent Alexander-Arnold and confirms he will leave the club at the end of the season
“If he (Slott) continues to play Bradley at right-back and they are exposed in midfield, they will continue to get the same results.
When in possession at Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp would use Alexander-Arnold as an inverted midfielder, looking to make better use of the player’s unique passing range.
They have problems at the back. They miss Trent.
“We’ve never seen that type of passing and crossing from a right-back and I think I can include all the great right-backs around the world, not just the ones who have played in the Premier League,” Neville said of Alexander-Arnold after opening for Luis Diaz at Tottenham Hotspur last December. “It’s absolutely sensational, it really is.”
This involved an easy change of play with a brilliant, precise pass into the center of the pitch, often to second full-back Andy Robertson on the opposite flank, perhaps best exemplified by Liverpool’s second goal against Man City at Anfield in November 2019.
Neither Bradley nor summer signing Jeremy Frimpong have such skills, which could explain why Slott has often opted to play versatile midfielder Dominik Soboslai as a makeshift right-back, while Liverpool have struggled in Alexander-Arnold’s absence to progress up the pitch during their recent struggles.
All of this has had a major impact on other parts of the team, particularly in attack where Salah’s form has dropped alarmingly this season in the absence of his old colleague on the right wing, with his recent consolation strike for Brentford’s first open goal in a top-flight game since the opening day of the campaign.
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Paul Merson breaks down Arne Slott’s problems at Liverpool, hinting that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure could be the root cause
“Slot didn’t pay attention to how much they will miss Alexander-Arnold,” ski sports said Paul Merson Football Saturday.
“They underestimated Trent leaving, you’re talking about one of the best passers in the Premier League, and when he plays at right-back, suddenly they’re doubling up on Salah, who doesn’t look like he’s shooting the ball.
ski sports Nick Wright expanded more in his ‘Radar‘ columnwriting: “The strength of their link-up on Liverpool’s right was probably this team’s biggest asset, not just because of the amount of passes Salah received from Alexander-Arnold, but also the type.”
“The right-back gave Salah exactly what he needed. It shows.” Opta’s data for line break passes. Alexander-Arnold scored 147 against Salah last season, a staggering 36 per cent more than any other pairing in the Premier League, while Josko Guardiol against Jeremy Doku is next on 108.
“Alexander-Arnold’s defensive weaknesses tended to attract more attention, but he was, and still is, a right-back unicorn in his ability to break down structures and bypass defenders with his distribution, ensuring Salah regularly receives the ball in positions to hurt opponents.”
Even Slott admitted that Salah’s recent slump may have something to do with Alexander-Arnold’s absence.
“He’s played with Trent his whole career at Liverpool, so it could (be),” Slott said when asked about Salah’s drop in form. “He was in promising positions often enough to score goals, but with Trent maybe even more.”
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Trent Alexander-Arnold announced on his social networks that he will leave Liverpool at the end of this season. He admitted it was a difficult decision, but says he needed a new career challenge
However, it’s not just the goals (23 in 354 games in total) or assists (92 in all competitions, including a record 67 defenders in the Premier League era) that Slott and Co have sorely missed this season, but the local boy’s influence in the dressing room, especially following the tragic death of Diogo Jota.
All of which makes the indifferent reaction to Alexander-Arnold’s decision not to stay at Anfield all the more puzzling, with the prevailing view among many Liverpool fans at the time being that they had lost one of their contract rebels, let it be the right-back rather than Salah or captain Virgil van Dijk.
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One wonders, however, if Michael Edwards (Fenway Sports Group, GM of Football) and athletic director Rickard Hughes had their time again, if they would actually prioritize trying to keep Trent.