With the Premier League title having been long wrapped up, Liverpool has had a couple of games that didn’t mean anything in terms of the results — and there are still two more to come.
But against Arsenal at the weekend, Trent Alexander-Arnold became the biggest narrative. Some Liverpool fans chose to boo him before, during and after the game, particularly vociferously when he was stood on the touchline ready to replace Conor Bradley.
Earlier in the game, Bradley’s name had been sung loudly, as well as Steven Gerrard’s — a reminder, of sorts, that one local hero stayed loyal to his boyhood club, while another has chosen to make the move to Real Madrid.
Liverpool tried everything to convince Alexander-Arnold to stay but the Reds’ number 66 wanted something that it was impossible for the club to offer: a fresh challenge. After two decades on Merseyside, he wants to try something new.
And while Alexander-Arnold’s situation should be allowed to overshadow the Premier League title celebrations — with Virgil van Dijk set to lift the trophy after the home game with Crystal Palace — it is a divisive topic.
Paul Merson has become the latest pundit to have his say, expressing his surprise that the boos came.
(Image: Sky Sports)
“I felt disappointed for the kid,” Merson told Sky Sports. “This kid is a top drawer player and he has been at that club since he has been a kid. He’s given everything and he’s won everything at the club, and he’s been a massive part of that.
“And this is Real Madrid. Liverpool are a big club, but no one ever turns down Real Madrid. I don’t think anyone has ever turned Real Madrid down.
“I just think people afterwards would have thought, ‘Why did I do that?’. I think someone has listened to someone else and people have joined in.
“But when you look back at it, you should be clapping the kid. The kid is a top drawer player, he’s been there however many years, and he has won every trophy you can win in the game.
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“I’m disappointed. If he was going to a Man United or an Everton or an Arsenal or a Chelsea, then I understand. But when he’s going to Real Madrid, he has given that club everything that he has got.”
It is important to say that not every Liverpool fan inside Anfield chose to boo. Some clapped the departing Alexander-Arnold, who looked surprised at how loud the boos were as he entered the field.
Liverpool.com says: Alexander-Arnold knew that the reaction was not going to be good. Some have criticized him announcing his departure when he did, but there was never a good time for it. Had he waited until the end of the season, he would then have been criticized for delaying it and accused of hiding.
