Sunday’s game against Arsenal was a new experience for Conor Bradley: For the first time in his juvenile career, he approached a match cast in the role of Liverpool’s primary right-back.
His ability, fitness and career trajectory were among the biggest talking points in Friday’s pre-match press conference, a rarity for a player whose entire existence as a Premier League player has played out under the immense shadow of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Bradley is not used to this level of intrigue.
He was selected ahead of Alexander-Arnold at right-back on Sunday, something Arne Slot confirmed ahead of time, and is expected to be given the nod in the final two matches of the season. For now, he’s an essential part of the first-choice XI.
Whether that’s a permanent situation or just a short-term measure will be determined over the coming months in the transfer market – but Slot’s pre-match comments seemed to suggest Alexander-Arnold’s replacement is already in situ at Liverpool.
If he approached Sunday’s game with any trepidation, that wasn’t obvious. He started well, crunching into an early tackle that drew roars from the Anfield crowd. Bradley linked well with Mohamed Salah, provided several penetrative runs down the line, and kept Gabriel Martinelli relatively quiet.
At half-time, fans could be forgiven for thinking that the transition from one academy graduate to another may be relatively smooth.
But the second half might have diminished some of that certainty.
(Image: 2025 Liverpool FC)
Within 90 seconds of the game resuming, Bradley was bypassed by the pesky Leandro Trossard, resulting in a dangerous Arsenal attack, before the Belgian winger was given too much time to pick out a cross for Martinelli to nod past Alisson. It was slack from the Northern Irishman, who was booked soon after for mistiming a challenge on Myles Lewis-Skelly. Suddenly, that air of confidence had disappeared.
He was replaced after 67 minutes, although Slot clarified post-match that was not due to his performance but for fitness reasons. That Bradley could only play 70 minutes is a concern, one that may gnaw at Slot over the summer. Talented as the right-back is, can he be trusted to play a full campaign? That he has only played 90 minutes in the Premier League on three previous occasions should have alarm bells ringing.
Another issue was exposed on Sunday: Bradley now must cope with the expectation of being a Liverpool starter.
The 21-year-old has always thrived when suddenly thrust into the limelight, but expecting to perform every week on the biggest stage is a different challenge altogether. That he allowed his concentration and performance levels to drop after an encouraging 45 minutes cannot be tolerated next season.
In Bradley’s defense, this is very much part of the learning process for any player transitioning from understudy to prominence. He also wasn’t alone in allowing standards to drop in the second half; Bradley’s acolytes may claim his errors were merely a byproduct of a disappointing team performance after the interval.
Bradley earned post-match praise from Slot, Micah Richards and Jamie Carragher, and is still building his fitness up after the hamstring issues that have dogged his season.
Perhaps the most pertinent point when assessing Bradley’s suitability for the leading role at right-back is that no one seems to question his ability.
On another day, he could have been among the main post-match points of discussion. Instead, it very much became a sideshow to the debate about Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Anfield reception.
For now, he’s still playing under that shadow, but it won’t be the case for much longer.
