Trent Alexander-Arnold has three more games remaining as a Liverpool player, but it remains to be seen how many minutes he will play — or what the reaction to the departing number 66 from fans will be if and when he features.
This Sunday against Arsenal, Conor Bradley will be in the team, Arne Slot has already confirmed. And the Liverpool head coach admitted ahead of the weekend that he is upset that Alexander-Arnold is moving on.
“I think, like everybody who likes Liverpool and is a fan of Liverpool, we are disappointed for him leaving because not only a good human leaving, but a very good full-back is leaving us as well,” Slot said during his pre-Arsenal press conference.
“But I also worked at clubs like AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord, where every season a very good player or multiple very good players have left the club. I am maybe a bit more used to it.”
In terms of the reaction to Alexander-Arnold inside Anfield in either of the final two home games, or in the title parade around the city that will follow, Slot had a clear message.
“People having an opinion, on Trent, me, or anyone, is nothing new,” he said. “It is maybe a bit more negative than he is used to.
(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
“I am not here to tell the fans how to react. The boys had a few days off, so I will wait and see how he feels. I have spoken to him on WhatsApp, but let’s wait and see.
“I am not here to tell the fans how to react. Trent said that us, as a team and club, not to be too distracted by this announcement, so I hope all the energy goes to the players, the fans and as less as possible to Trent, unless it is positive.”
That is, ultimately, the bottom line. This season will come to a close without the final four fixtures having meant anything in terms of the results, but only because Liverpool has already long known that it will become league champion.
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In Slot’s first season in charge, that should be viewed as an especially big achievement. And after more than three decades without a proper title party, that is where the focus should lie.
While some will feel let down or angered by Alexander-Arnold’s decision to join Real Madrid, others will be more understanding of his thought process. Neither should let his exit overshadow what the Reds have done across the last few months.
“The experience I have — and this club as well — is that if a very good player is leaving, the next very good player will step up,” Slot said. “That is probably what is going to happen now.”
The Liverpool head coach is firmly looking to the future. Given it should be bright even without Alexander-Arnold, so too should the Liverpool fans watching the final matches of the season.
