Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure from Liverpool is now public knowledge. How that impacts his reception from the fans for the remainder of the campaign remains to be seen, but we can already make a good guess about the effect on his role in Arne Slot’s side.
There are three games left of the season, which will be little more than an extended lap of honor. Slot has said that he will avoid wholesale rotation, but has pledged to give more opportunities to squad players — a process that began against Chelsea, with the likes of Jarell Quansah and Harvey Elliott getting starts.
Even Federico Chiesa made it on, albeit as a substitute, for just his fifth Premier League appearance of the campaign. That means he is guaranteed a winner’s medal, although Liverpool was likely to give him one anyway.
There was only a place on the bench too for Conor Bradley, who has just returned from a slight injury setback. But many would now advocate for the Northern Irishman to start for the remainder of the campaign.
After all, there’s every chance that Bradley will become the new first-choice right-back next season. Liverpool may yet dip into the transfer market, with Jeremie Frimpong among the genuine options, but the club is not committed to signing a direct Alexander-Arnold replacement (if such a thing is even possible).
Slot won’t exactly be auditioning Bradley, having had the chance to watch him before in games with far more meaningful competitive stakes. But there’s certainly a case for getting him ino the rhythm of playing from the start every weekend, not least because of his questionable injury record.
Sure enough, the manager has acknowledged the importance of giving Bradley regular minutes. “It is very important for him to play many games in a row, to become an even better player than he is now,” Slot remarked last month.
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However, he went on to acknowledge that Alexander-Arnold has been a pretty major barrier to getting that game time. And Slot has no intention of punishing the departing right-back for his decision to leave.
Slot has known about Alexander-Arnold’s decision since March, and has continued to play him. “You’re a huge part of this team and let’s end it on a high together,” was his response to learning the news, per The Athletic.
In reply, Alexander-Arnold pledged maximum commitment, promising to give everything until the final day. With that in mind, there’s no reason to expect he will be frozen out in what remains of the campaign.
Having said that, Liverpool has already managed to end the season on a high. It would be churlish not to acknowledge Alexander-Arnold’s role in that — and the fans were magnanimous in showering him with adulation, despite his departure being widely expected — but there remains a degree of uncertainty about how Slot will manage things now there is no competitive motivation to play the full-back.
After all, while there may be no bad feelings from Slot’s perspective, it makes increasingly little sense to keep selecting Alexander-Arnold. It’s a bit like the dilemma you have after signing a loan player — ultimately, you have no stake in their long-term development, and there is therefore greater incentive to use other options.
So while we can conclude that Slot will not shun Alexander-Arnold for the sake of it (even though some fans would want him to), it would still be surprising if we did not see more of Bradley in what remains of the season. Only one of these players now represents the future at Liverpool.
Nonetheless, Alexander-Arnold will not be persona non grata, at least as far is Slot is concerned. Whether or not he continues to start, he will surely get on the pitch between now and the end of the campaign — he can only hope that the Liverpool faithful are as gracious as his manager now that his decision is fully confirmed.
