Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has warned Trent Alexander-Arnold that he may end up on the receiving end of boos as he predicted the full-back will be “under pressure” every day at Real Madrid.
The defender announced his intention to depart Liverpool at the end of the current campaign following 20 years with his boyhood club. Signing off from his duties as a two-time Premier League title winner, the full-back will leave as a free agent and is expected to head to Santiago Bernabeu upon the expiry of his contract.
The 26-year-old’s decision has been met with a mixed response with supporters, with a section of fans having booed the homegrown star in a 2-2 draw against Arsenal. Following on from this, Kop hero Jamie Carragher was critical of those who jeered, while John Aldridge wrote that he felt “uneasy” upon hearing the boos.
Amid the debate over this reaction, ex-Barcelona ace Petit admitted that Alexander-Arnold may not necessarily escape the boos over in Spain next season. In fact, the World Cup winner argued that the player’s performances may well come under the microscope in Madrid if results to not go the way of Los Blancos following his expected arrival.
Speaking to Casinozonderlimiet, he said: “It’s going to be a different world for Trent Alexander-Arnold. When you join Barcelona and Real Madrid, you have to forget everything you’ve done so far.
“It’s a different story. You open a new book. We all know how Real Madrid have struggled, defensively this season. Trent Alexander-Arnold can bring in talent offensively, but we all know what happens when he has to defend.”
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Giving his verdict on whether the right-back will prove to be a successful addition in the Spanish capital, he continued: “Real Madrid have conceded too many goals this season and will Trent Alexander-Arnold change that? He will bring goals but defensively I’m not so sure.
“I think the protection he received from Liverpool fans over his defending in the past was deserved because he has been a tremendous player for the club, but if he does that at Real Madrid, they are going to put pressure on him straight away.”
Confessing that Alexander-Arnold may be subject to boos once more if his performances do not match up with his billing, he said: “There is a chance that if he does perform badly, they could boo him. The first game that he makes a mistake, the pressure will be on from the media and the fans, just like many, many top players who have joined Real Madrid.
“As you know, I wasn’t here in the last few days and neither was Trent. Today was the first day we came back together. It’s difficult for a team who already won the league to train for so many days.
“Keep in mind that these players never had any time off during the season. Other teams had it, but we didn’t have that.
Meanwhile, Reds manager Slot also addressed whether Alexander-Arnold will be involved in Liverpool’s next league fixture against Brighton. He said: “Is Trent involved, yes or no? It is quite early for me to say what the team and the squad will look like for Monday.”
“I was already happy that no one asked about it. People talked about it to me. We had the reaction from the fans in the stadium, and pundits talk. Now let’s draw a line and focus on the fact we’ve won the league and focus on that feeling and be distracted that much by Trent’s situation.”
