Arne Slot opted against playing Trent Alexander-Arnold against Brighton following the frosty reception the outgoing Liverpool right-back received a week ago.
Alexander-Arnold was loudly booed by fans at Anfield against Arsenal as he made his first appearance since announcing he would leave the club in the summer. A move to Real Madrid now looks to just be a matter of time, although it is still unclear whether the Spanish giant will get its wish for him to play at the Club World Cup.
Despite the negative response following Alexander-Arnold’s announcement, Slot remained undeterred as he vowed to carry on playing the 26-year-old in the remaining games if he chose to do so.
Indeed, Alexander-Arnold was again named in Liverpool’s matchday squad against Brighton, offering the potential once again for an awkward reception from the traveling supporters at the Amex Stadium.
Slot though may well have learned from his decision to bring Alexander-Arnold off the bench in the previous game, with the academy graduate instead remaining seated on this occasion.
Unlike the previous weekend, Slot opted against making a like-for-like substitution, with Conor Bradley instead being replaced by Wataru Endo with 13 minutes remaining of the 90.
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That may well point to a change of thinking from the Liverpool boss, who had suggested that Alexander-Arnold would play if he felt it would help the Reds pick up wins. The visitors would go on to lose 3-2 to Brighton, despite first-half goals from Harvey Elliott and Dominik Szoboszlai.
“The thing I consider is I want to win a game of football. If we think we can win this one with Trent, I owe it to his teammates and to the fans, because they hired me to win as many games of football as possible.
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“If I think there is a better chance of winning it with Trent, I will. If I think — which I don’t — that it is a distraction or whatever can happen for us not to play a good game of football, then I might, might, might make another decision.
“But I think Trent showed today why I brought him in. He was very close with a few fantastic crosses for us to win the game.”
Liverpool.com says: Whether it was by choice or not, Slot made the right call with Alexander-Arnold this time by not bringing him off the bench.
These last couple of games don’t matter in the slightest, and there’s just no need to create any more negativity around the whole situation.
