Mohamed Salah has expressed his dismay at the jeers aimed towards his colleague Trent Alexander-Arnold, departing Liverpool at season’s end.
Salah spoke compassionately about Alexander-Arnold’s decision and contribution to the club in an interview with Sky Sports: “I think he deserves the best farewell leaving the club; he’s done a lot for the city and the club and he’s probably the best players in the club’s history.”
Salah stressed that being at one club for so long can take a mental toll and praised Alexander-Arnold‘s commitment: “He needs to go and challenge himself, it’s 20 years at a club and people don’t realise it’s so tough mentally. People don’t realize ‘I do love the club, but I’m going to the same place everyday for 20 years’.”
Moreover, Salah promised to maintain a strong bond with Alexander-Arnold post-departure, while criticising the fans for not showing the respect he believes Alexander-Arnold deserves: “I really wish him the best, I will always be in touch with him. But I think the fans were being harsh with him – I think he didn’t deserve that and he deserves the fans to treat him the best way possible. Because he’s given it all to the fans.”
He added: ‘I was surprised, because it’s not how we react as Liverpool fans. We shouldn’t act this way with anyone.
“We always appreciate the people that came here, even for six months. Imagine someone who gave you his all for 20 years, it shouldn’t be like this.
“I hope that will change in the next game, Brighton or the last game of the season, because he deserves a farewell.”
(Image: PA)
Following the Arsenal match, the topic of Alexander-Arnold’s reception was also addressed by Slot: “The thing I consider is I want to win a game of football and if we think we can win with Trent. I owe it to his team-mates and to the fans, because they (Liverpool) hired me to win as many games of football as possible.
“And if I think there’s a better chance of winning with Trent, then I will (pick him). If I think it’s a distraction or whatever can happen for us not to play a good game of football, then I might, might, might make another decision.
“He showed today why I brought him in because he was very close with a few fantastic crosses for us to win the game.”
Ahead of Liverpool’s game against Brighton, Slot said: “I haven’t spoken to him yet. This is the first day we come back together. We train today, tomorrow and Sunday to be well prepared for Monday.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“It’s quite early for me to say what the team will look like and what the squad will look like for Monday. I was already happy that nobody asked about it, I thought we could leave this behind.
“Last week people talked about it to me, then of course we had the reaction from our fans in the stadium which was different, positive and negative, then all the pundits talked about it and the whole country talked about it.
“Now I think it’s time to draw a line under that. Let’s focus on the fact that we’ve won the league and to enjoy the upcoming week with that feeling and not talk and be distracted that much about Trent’s situation.”
