Dominik Szoboszlai appeared exasperated after hearing teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold being booed following the final whistle in Liverpool’s draw with Arsenal.
Alexander-Arnold was jeered by thousands of Reds fans as he entered the pitch as a second-half substitute, while his every touch was also met with boos. Liverpool fans are furious with the 26-year-old for allowing his contract to run down ahead of leaving the club to join Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer.
After the final whistle against Arsenal, Liverpool’s players walked around the field and applauded the supporters, who applauded back, but when it came to Alexander-Arnold applauding the fans in the Kop, he was met with even more boos.
Szoboszlai reacted by stretching his arms out, as if to ask the supporters why they were booing Alexander-Arnold, before flinging his arm up in apparent frustration two more times.
The fan-captured footage prompted some online fans to turn on Szoboszlai, with one writing: “He carries on he’ll get booed and booted out of this club too. Hasn’t done a patch of what Trent has done, he can be discarded very easily.” Another wrote: “Been at the club 2 minutes, wind your neck in. Or get in board with the culture and what it means.”
While many of Liverpool’s supporters are not best pleased with Alexander-Arnold’s decision, it seems clear that he has the backing of his teammates.
Fellow full-back Andy Robertson said he would not tell other people how to feel about Alexander-Arnold’s impending exit but threw his support behind the England international.
“There’s a lot of emotion around it,” Robertson told Sky Sports after the Arsenal draw. “I think it’s crucial in these moments that I don’t tell you how to feel and you don’t tell me how to feel — but I can tell you how I feel, and that’s disappointed to lose my best mate in the game.
“We’ve done it all together. He’s an amazing player and an amazing person. He’s made me a better player, and that’s from the bottom of my heart. He’s taken me to levels that I never new existed. He has pushed me through the good years and he’s made a choice.. His legacy at this club is there for everybody to see, the trophies he’s won, and the moments he’s had in history will always be there.
“Of course it’s an emotional decision and it’s not been an easy one but he’s made it. It was not nice to see him get booed but you can’t tell people how to act. But I can tell you how I feel about it: I’m extremely proud of him and what he’s done for this club.
“I love him as a friend, and I love him as a player, and he’ll be missed as one of my best friends in the game. That’s how I feel about it and I’m not going to tell anyone else how to feel about it.”
