Liverpool vice-captain is facing the fallout from exit announcement and must now hope matters are resolved by season end
Liverpool right-back Alexander-Arnold is facing an unexpected tough period at the club after his exit announcement caused widespread disappointment among fans.
Alexander-Arnold informed the club and supporters on Monday that he would be leaving Anfield after 20 years, with 10 of those as a first-team player. However, the news has met with mixed responses, with some people excited for the England international, while others resent his decision to leave his boyhood club for Real Madrid.
It has left the footballer in a difficult position threatening to mar both the end of his long spell at the club, and the euphoria of winning the club’s 20th English top-flight title and their first in front of fans in the Premier League era.
In his press conference on Friday ahead of Liverpool’s Sunday clash with Arsenal, head coach Arne Slot said that it’s “not new” for people to have an opinion about football players, even if right now it is “probably a bit more negative than he is used to”.
The Dutchman also said that he had not seen Alexander-Arnold in the period after the announcement, communicating with him only via WhatsApp, and that he would meet with him later that day to “see how he feels”.
The 26-year-old’s deeply emotional farewell message to club supporters in a video clearly showed what the club means to him. It would be a shame if his relationship with fans soured with only three matches left in his Liverpool career.
Conor Bradley, who has deputised for Alexander-Arnold since he broke into the first team in 2021, is set to start on Sunday against Arsenal, according to Slot. The head coach said that the Northern Irishman “needs playing time to be better prepared for next season”, as he gears up to replace Alexander-Arnold in the team.
Bradley is almost certainly not going to play every single minute left in the season. When Alexander-Arnold eventually steps back onto the pitch, perhaps it would give him time to dazzle fans once more with his technical abilities and erase the grievances of the moment.
During his press conference, Slot was quick to remind everyone of the plea that the right-back clairvoyantly made when he announced his departure.
“Trent said that us, as a team and club, should not to be too distracted by this announcement,” said Slot. “So I hope all the energy goes to the players and as less as possible to Trent, unless it is positive.”
