Trent Alexander-Arnold’s first game since Real Madrid came calling was poor – but Liverpool still need him

The backlash was inevitable.

After all the noise surrounding his future in the build-up to Liverpool’s clash with Manchester United on Sunday, Trent Alexander-Arnold produced his most underwhelming display of the season so far.

Liverpool manager Arne Slott’s insistence that Real Madrid stepped up their pursuit of their vice-captain would not be a distraction as they sought to tighten their grip on the Premier League title race after Arsenal dropped two points at Brighton on Saturday, it emerged to be desirable. thinking

Alexander-Arnold bore the brunt of the Anfield crowd’s wrath as a contest they were expected to win neatly ended in a frustrating 2-2 draw.

There were howls of displeasure from the stands as the home-grown right-back’s distribution repeatedly failed him. He completed just 75 per cent of his passes (47 of 63) – the lowest accuracy of any Liverpool player who started – and he lost possession 25 times. A single occasion saw Lisandro Martinez fire United into a 1-0 lead.

Defensively, Alexander-Arnold didn’t win any of the five duels he contested as Diogo Dalot gave him plenty of trouble. United kept getting in behind him all too easily. He was lucky that Alisson bailed him out in the first half after he had played Rasmus Højlund inside. Captain Virgil van Dijk did the same late on after another sloppy pass had left the hosts exposed. Alexander-Arnold was replaced shortly after.

“I think nine out of 10 people will tell you it (the speculation) affected Trent, but I’m one of the 10 who will tell you I don’t think it did,” said Castle.

“What affected him was that he had to play against Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot, who are two starters for Portugal. Great players. It was harder for Trent to play them than the rumors were during the week. That’s my opinion.

“It was clear that Trent had some difficult moments, as we as a team had, but it is also not the first time for Trent. I think most of the games he played for this club were very good, but I can’t believe it if people tell me he never played a bad game for this club. It has probably happened before.”

So just a bad day at the office or a sign that Alexander-Arnold’s mind is elsewhere?

The knee-jerk answer is that his commitment has waned after having his head turned and Liverpool should get what they can for him in this winter transfer window rather than accept to lose him to Madrid for nothing when his contract expires at the end of the season.

But that’s an emotional overreaction that ignores the bigger picture. For starters, just a week ago, nobody was complaining about Alexander-Arnold’s contribution to West Ham’s 5-0 finish. He scored his first goal since April that day, producing one of the passes of the season for Mohamed Salah.

Slot has done a lot of individual work with Alexander-Arnold since he arrived in pre-season to improve the defensive side of his game and before this display the results had been there for all to see.

There is no way a player who has committed the last 20 years to his boyhood club would effectively throw in the towel when he is just months away from potentially winning a second Premier League title in his career. He has hardly taken a back seat. After playing on painkiller injections to ease the discomfort of a side strain in October, he has missed just one top-flight game as he helped Slot’s side establish a six-point lead with a game in hand.

Liverpool’s position that he is simply not for sale is the correct one. Madrid’s initial approach was rejected last week before the figures were even discussed. But even if they return with an offer of £20 million ($24.9 million), it shouldn’t change anything.

That’s peanuts compared to the riches Liverpool will reap if Alexander-Arnold plays a crucial role in them winning Premier League and/or Champions League glory over the next five months. He is still a match winner with his creative spark. A flawed performance doesn’t change that.

Yes, they have an impressive deputy in Conor Bradley, but he has only just returned from six weeks out with a hamstring injury and is still learning his trade at the age of 21. You can’t put too much responsibility on his young shoulders.

The United game may have been Alexander-Arnold’s first appearance since Madrid publicly launched their efforts to recruit him, but that unveiling was hardly a bolt from the blue. His world has not just been turned upside down. Everyone knew it was coming. Right-back is a position Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is desperate to strengthen after the loss of Dani Carvajal to a long-term knee injury in October, and Alexander-Arnold has long been their top target there.

In the Spanish capital, they believe it is a matter of when, not if, the 33-cap England international moves to the Bernabeu. But Liverpool insist they still hold out hope he will sign an extension and stay put.

Perhaps the scale of the decision he faces dawns on Alexander-Arnold now that January has arrived and he has the option of signing a pre-contract with a foreign club to move for a Bosman this summer. It would be understandable if his head was a bit fragile as the pressure and control grew.

What about his legacy at Anfield if he leaves? What about the long-held desire to become club captain there? Given Liverpool’s current status, he could not claim he needs a transfer to satisfy his thirst for silverware.

At the age of 26, does he just want a new challenge – the chance to live abroad and experience a different lifestyle, as well as the glamor of playing alongside his close friend Jude Bellingham? Financially, it is unclear what is on the table, but Madrid are likely to be more lucrative than Liverpool as he would command a large signing fee.

Of course, it should never have come to this. Yes, internal turmoil at Liverpool didn’t help matters, but the club’s owners took their eye off the ball when they allowed Alexander-Arnold to come down to the final year of his current deal. This situation could and should have been avoided.

It was one of the biggest issues that sporting director Richard Hughes inherited last summer, and he has wrestled with it ever since, with no breakthrough in discussions.

On Sunday, there was a new banner at the Kop before kick-off. It read: ‘FSG give Mo and Co their dough’ alongside pictures of Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Van Dijk, all of whom are in the final six months of their deals.

Remarkably, all the ongoing uncertainty about the influential trio has not negatively affected the season so far. Liverpool cannot afford for that to change, as the stakes will be higher after the turn of the year.

Alexander-Arnold struggled against United, but this was not the day to judge.

Liverpool need him for what lies ahead between now and May, wherever he intends to play his football next season.

(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)