Entering their match against arch-rivals Manchester United, Premier League leaders Liverpool were primed to take all three points and further extend their massive lead. The Reds had seen all their closest challengers drop cheap points in recent matchday while Liverpool themselves had been picking up win after win, taking steps towards reclaiming the league title they last won in the 2019-20 season. Additionally, United arrived at Anfield having lost their last three league matches and had slid all the way down to 14th place. This appeared to be a golden opportunity for Liverpool not only to tighten their stranglehold over what seemed to be a league title that was all but theirs, but also rub it in United’s faces while doing so.
This, however, turned out not to be so as Liverpool only managed a 2-2 draw against the Red Devils. Shortly after half-time, Lisandro Martínez broke forward and received a pass from Bruno Fernandes before firing it in off the underside of the crossbar to put United a goal ahead; however, Cody Gakpo scored Liverpool’s equalizer just seven minutes later. Liverpool would later take a 2-1 lead after Mohamed Salah scored a penalty after Matthijs de Ligt’s handball. Then, in the 80th minute, Amad Diallo - as he did against Manchester City - came up huge for United down the stretch, netting United’s second goal and ensuring that they’d leave Merseyside with a share of the points.
Almost immediately after the match, one Liverpool player was understandably singled out for criticism: Trent Alexander-Arnold. The English right-back had a dismal showing against United and was largely unable to deal with whatever United threw at him. Completely outplayed by his opposing counterparts Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot, Alexander-Arnold lost all five of his one-on-one duels and thus handed United a huge amount of space from which viable goalscoring chances could’ve been created.
On top of that, Alexander-Arnold’s positional play was an absolute disaster. On multiple occasions throughout the match, Alexander-Arnold allowed United to attack the penalty area from out wide even if he wasn’t dribbled past by a United player. His below-par situational awareness and frequent misreads capped off a performance to forget.
There can be almost no question as to why Alexander-Arnold played so poorly against United: it almost certainly has to do with the recent speculation linking Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid. Real have made it clear that they’re highly interested in landing the Merseysider either in the ongoing January transfer window or in the off-season. As of right now, Alexander-Arnold commands an expected transfer value of around €75 million - a figure well within Real’s means.
This then begs the question: has Alexander-Arnold mentally checked out? Does he himself actually want to leave Liverpool for the Santiago Bernabéu? If such is the case, that would go a long way towards explaining his showing against United. If a recent report in Marca were to be believed, Alexander-Arnold might not only be actively seeking a move to the Spanish capital but might even have already informed Liverpool of such. The report went on to claim that the chances of Alexander-Arnold renewing his contract at his hometown club where he’s spent all of his nine-season career to date are slim to none.
A mid-season departure might just end up derailing Liverpool’s season and shrinking their lead on top of the Premier League - perhaps even causing them to fall from first place. In addition to the obvious personnel hole which the departure of a player on the level of Alexander-Arnold would leave behind, the nature of his potential departure and all the buzz around it can only be highly disruptive to Liverpool’s season.
Up until now, it’s been plain sailing all season long for Arne Slot’s team. This is the first major adversity they’ve faced - and how they deal with this will not only determine if they have what it takes to stay the course domestically and claim the league title, but also perhaps if they are to make a serious push for the Champions League title as well.
If this is the end for Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool, it’s been an absolutely tremendous nine years with the Reds; he will no doubt leave as a club icon. However, if his departure is indeed impending, the question has to be raised - has he already mailed it in, or will he actually take the rest of the season seriously?
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