Liverpool failed to beat a London club for a second weekend on the bounce as the Reds settled for a 2-2 draw against Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday, a week after suffering a 3-1 loss against Chelsea.
Despite taking a two-goal lead in an exhilarating match that held little significance for the already crowned champion, with Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz hitting the net for the Reds, Arsenal managed to make a comeback from a two-goal deficit, earning a point thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Merino.
Yet, the focus after the whistle wasn’t so much on the game itself as it was on Trent Alexander-Arnold and the widespread jeers he faced from the Liverpool supporters when he took to the pitch in the second half.
Members of the the national press were present to give their take on what was undeniably an odd afternoon at Anfield, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Paul Joyce, reporting for The Times, notes: “As Trent Alexander-Arnold stood on the touchline waiting to enter the fray, he would have been braced for a reaction and expected there would be some dissent.
“It had not been by coincidence that when he stepped forward in the 67th minute, an ode to Steven Gerrard, throaty recognition of the local lad who thumbed his nose to the suitors and stayed loyal to his boyhood club, was aired.
“Or that one more chant of Conor Bradley’s name was bellowed out after Liverpool’s future had made way for their soon-to-be past. Yet Alexander-Arnold could not have been prepared for what transpired next.
“Having spent eight years being feted by an adoring public, so now his every touch was booed by the disaffected masses. Initially, at least, before some, recognizing the brutal nature of that treatment, sought to redress the balance and offer some belated support.
“Frankly, the response was unbecoming of Liverpool supporters regardless of the disappointment at Alexander-Arnold’s decision to quit the club in the summer, bound for Real Madrid on a free transfer.”
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Chris Bascombe, in The Telegraph, wrote: “Trent Alexander-Arnold was made to feel like an unwanted guest at Liverpool’s title celebration as Arsenal clawed back into the game, narrowing its pursuit of a Champions League spot.
“While Mikel Arteta can take pride in his squad’s resilience for rallying from a two-goal hole, it was the stark shift in attitude post the 66th-minute switch featuring Liverpool’s departing second-in-command that left an indelible mark.
“Alexander-Arnold had suffered some modest jeers when his name was announced pre-match, and when warming up during the first half. The crescendo of boos when he took the field and took possession for the first time was loud and uncomfortable.
“Unsurprisingly as a previously upbeat atmosphere took a turn, Arsenal took advantage and equalised – Alexander-Arnold playing Mikel Merino onside to make it 2-2.
“It was an unprecedented show of discontent by the Kop for a player who seven days ago was still considered ‘one of their own’. Evidently the words of the club anthem require the caveat that you will walk alone to Madrid.”
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The Independent’s Rich Jolly writes: “For now, Slot said, emotions are mixed. Raw, too, even if, while it was only six days since Alexander-Arnold had announced his departure, he had told Slot in March, and it had long seemed apparent what his decision would be.
“His team-mates, like his manager, have been disappointed but supportive. Andy Robertson has been a brother in arms, a fellow full-back who has had a competition to get the most assists. ‘He’s an amazing player and an amazing person,’ said the left-back.
“But it was an illustration of how they do feel. Some of the supporters may object to the way a potential £50m fee will elude them, even if a player who cost Liverpool nothing will leave for nothing. But that reaction is in part because he is the Liverpudlian who is rejecting Liverpool. And before the eventual applause, some at Anfield barracked the player they used to celebrate as ‘the Scouser in the team’.”
Jonathan Liew, from The Guardian, commented: “In a way, Alexander-Arnold’s treatment was in itself an indication of the triviality of the fixture. No way does the Kop go there if the title is still on the line.
“But then by the same token, nor does Alexander-Arnold. Why cast this entirely avoidable shadow over the last few games of the season? Why not simply wait until after the final game, take his garlands and flowers, surf the wave of ambiguity?”.
“Meanwhile, Arne Slot finds himself in a predicament. Conor Bradley, warmly serenaded all game, is still not quite robust enough to last 90 minutes. So do you strengthen the team, even if you weaken the vibes in the process? Perhaps it was no surprise that Arsenal’s equaliser came in the weird lacuna that followed Alexander-Arnold’s introduction, with Anfield too gripped in its own palace intrigue to notice that Mikel Merino was unmarked in the area.
“And frankly, you have to rate it. The booing of Alexander-Arnold was unbelievably petty, unashamedly small-minded and deeply ungrateful, and these are all intended as compliments. Football fandom should be all these things, should be irrational, should be intensely subjective and wildly disproportionate.
“Stoke fans still boo Aaron Ramsey for breaking his leg against them 15 years ago. Sunderland and Coventry still hate each other because Jimmy Hill put a score on a scoreboard in 1977. There are no rules to this thing, and can you imagine if there were?”.
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“Having grown up in Liverpool, a club and a city where the ties that bind are always a little more conditional and transactional than people like to admit, Alexander‐Arnold should have known what he was getting into. This is our thing. Our family. And in this family you are never half in and half out. In a way there was a sinister mafioso quality to this very public flogging: and let that be a warning to the rest of you.”
John Cross from The Mirror also weighed in on the Alexander-Arnold controversy, stating: “Maybe Mikel Arteta was wrong to claim Arsenal were the best team in the Champions League, despite their exit to Paris Saint Germain. But perhaps Arsenal – who had gone through the humiliation of giving Liverpool a guard of honour – dug deep themselves in reaction to some of the barracking and they turned the game around.
“And Liverpool now also have the Trent Alexander-Arnold sideshow. There was a smattering of boos when his name was read out among the substitutes before kick off and the jeers were deafening when he came on after he confirmed his exit this week.
“What a sad departure for a homegrown player, a Scouse graduate from Liverpool’s academy and yet the fans chanted the name of his successor, Conor Bradley, with extra gusto just to make a point to Alexander-Arnold.
“That feels like a big shame and a sour ending but Liverpool fans are fiercely loyal – and expect the same in return.”
