It was an afternoon that Trent Alexander-Arnold will remember for some time, and not because Liverpool threw away a 2-0 lead against Arsenal and missed the chance to move 18 points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Booed a little when his name was read out before the game (he was a substitute, with Conor Bradley starting), Alexander-Arnold was then jeered onto the field. There was audible discontent a few times when he had the ball at his feet, but to his credit, he kept going and narrowly put a free-kick wide of the goal.
At the end, there was some more booing as he walked around Anfield and clapped. Alexander-Arnold was given more applause than jeers, then, though, though it is the noise of boos that rings the loudest.
At the final whistle, thousands of Liverpool fans stayed to clap the team and Alexander-Arnold. The vast majority, as he walked towards The Kop, were positive, despite his decision to leave.
“[It] is a nice touch,” former Liverpool left-back Stephen Warnock said on BBC Radio 5Live. “I think they realized the quality he has when he was back on the pitch.
“He had a couple of magic moments, the deliveries into the box, not many players in world football can do what he does. I thought the response from him was a positive one.”
(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“After 20 years at Liverpool Football Club, I’ll be leaving at the end of the season,” Alexander-Arnold said in a video posted on Monday. “I think the decision for me is personal, to change environment, to challenge myself elsewhere.
“It’s not about wanting to find something better. It’s about me and my personal journey as a player and I feel like now is the right time for me to go and experience that.
“People won’t be happy with the decision but it’s something that I feel like I need to do on my journey in my career.
“The times I’ve had here, the memories, the special moments are and will always be some of the moments I’ll have in my life and memories that will live with me forever, and I’m eternally grateful to everyone who’s helped me along the way.
Learn more
“Being able to sit here now as a two-time Premier League champions for the club that I grew up loving, it’s a great end to the story for me. Of course it’s very emotional for me, it’s all I’ve ever known.
“It’s everything I’ve ever wanted to do, dreamed of as a kid. Yeah, it’s just very emotional if I’m honest because the club, the city, the fans, the people have given me things that I could never have dreamt of in me wildest dreams.
“It’s, you know, a journey that I’ve lived through that millions of people will dream of doing and I’ve been lucky enough to have been able to experience it. I’ll never forget it and I can’t thank everyone enough for the support, the belief, the amazing moments we’ve had.”
