
Liverpool
Premier League • England
Arne Slot hints Trent Alexander-Arnold contract saga has amplified Liverpool criticism

Slot has addressed Alexander-Arnold's future
Trent Alexander-Arnold bounced back from his horror show against Manchester United by scoring for Liverpool against Accrington Stanley on Saturday – and head coach Arne Slot has admitted the full-back’s ongoing contract uncertainty could have played a part in what was said about him in between those games.
As everyone knows by now, Alexander-Arnold is out of contract with Liverpool at the end of the season. Uncertainty remains over whether he will stay at the club or leave for Real Madrid, who made an approach to sign him on New Year’s Eve and remain interested in setting up a pre-contract agreement with the right-back.
Some outspoken Liverpool pundits have claimed Alexander-Arnold could be seen in a lesser light for leaving on a free transfer. And while others have jumped to his defence, critics claimed he may have been distracted when he put in a poor display against Man Utd.
But Slot gave Alexander-Arnold the captaincy against Accrington and saw the boyhood Red score the second goal in a 4-0 FA Cup third round win. Alexander-Arnold was later chosen as the man of the match.
Reacting afterwards, Slot admitted that the criticism of Alexander-Arnold was actually a compliment for how many eyes are on him – but did suggest the reaction could have been different had the 26-year-old already signed up to continue at Anfield.
“The biggest compliment Trent could get was the reaction of everyone after the Manchester United game,” said Slot.
“Every player around the world, maybe except for a few, has a bad game and that is completely normal. But the moment Trent has one, everyone has an opinion about it.
“Maybe, maybe that is because of the contract situation. I don’t know if that wasn’t there if people would have reacted in the same way.
“But the biggest compliment you can have is that if you have such a great first half of the season and you don’t play a good game against United — and that was clear for me, for you, the fans and the analysts who saw the game — but many of them were quite hard on him. And maybe that is the biggest compliment you can get?”
Slot explains Alexander-Arnold selection
Alexander-Arnold had been a sub for Liverpool’s game against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-final, three days after the Man Utd draw. He came on in the 60th minute, before returning to the starting lineup against League Two’s Accrington.
For Slot – who chose a mix of first-teamers and backup players, including a debut for 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha – it was a simple decision to bring Alexander-Arnold back in as his captain.
“I do think that it was important [to start him], but the [main] reason to play him was Conor Bradley came back from a hamstring injury and two days ago he played his first minutes against Tottenham,” Slot explained.
“It is a bit unknown how our flight was that night, we couldn’t land in Liverpool so we went to Birmingham and came home really late. And, for me, it was too much of a risk to play a player who had a hamstring issue for a few weeks and only came back two days ago.
“The only other available full-back is Trent. As a result of him playing, it was good for him to play in our own stadium and feel the reception of the fans again. That was already fantastic against Tottenham. So it was also special again today and that can only help him and us.
“If you want to do special things this season, you can do that together, not only the players, the manager but definitely with the fans. I could talk for hours about his goal. Unbelievable.”
Alexander-Arnold told to mimic Salah / Liverpool teammate criticised
Prior to his return to form against Accrington, Alexander-Arnold was advised by a pundit over how he can follow Mohamed Salah’s example in not letting contract negotiations distract him on the pitch.
Salah is, of course, also coming to the end of his deal, but he is having an incredible season and there have been Ballon d’Or shouts if he can keep it up.
“Players can get distracted, especially when it’s one of the biggest clubs in the world that are showing an interest, and the stakes are high,” said Emile Heskey.
“It takes real mental strength to ignore it. You’re looking at Mo Salah, he’s never dropped his level while everything has been going on with his contract this season.
But one player coming in for criticism after drawing a blank against Accrington is Darwin Nunez.
Robbie Fowler is starting to suspect Nunez is ‘not a Liverpool player’ after struggling to fend off doubts about his ability.
“We’re saying the same things now that we’re saying two or three years ago,” he told ITV Sport. “He’s raw, he’s this, he’s that, and we can’t keep saying that.
“So for me, the more I see him, the more I think he’s not a Liverpool player.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold: Reasons to stay or go
Reasons to stay
Creating a one-club legacy – There aren’t too many one-club players around these days, not only since the age of loyalty is declining but also because many youngsters are having experiences out on loan before breaking through. Alexander-Arnold never needed that, instead building his way up to becoming a first-team regular at Anfield. Alexander-Arnold could cement his legendary Liverpool status by committing to the club for his prime years.
Chance to become captain – When Jordan Henderson and James Milner left Liverpool in 2023, their captaincy hierarchy was shuffled around. Alexander-Arnold was appointed as vice-captain behind Virgil van Dijk. Van Dijk is seven years older than Alexander-Arnold, so the academy graduate is likely to step up to the full-time captaincy role at some point or another if he stays, which would be the culmination of his impressive rise through the ranks.
Less pressure – This is a contestable point but it could be argued that Alexander-Arnold would face more pressure at Real Madrid, where expectations are sky high, than at Liverpool, where once again there are demanding expectations but also an existing understanding of and affection for what Alexander-Arnold brings to the team. If he has a couple of bad games for Liverpool, then unless it becomes a slump in form, it would be forgotten about fairly quickly. If the same was to happen early into his Madrid career, he could start feeling the heat.
Settled role – For the best part of eight years now, Alexander-Arnold has been Liverpool’s main right-back. Thanks to how well he has performed, he has rarely been threatened for the starting berth. Even since Slot replaced Klopp in the Anfield dugout, Alexander-Arnold has retained the same degree of faith, so he could expect to continue in his stride if he was to remain at Liverpool.
Reasons to leave
Expectation of major trophies – While Alexander-Arnold has amassed a respectable medal collection with Liverpool, winning just about everything there is to win, the sheer frequency of honours he could expect to pick up at Real Madrid may outweigh it. Madrid are the Champions League’s most successful club and could enable Alexander-Arnold to add some more glittering honours to his cabinet.
Ballon d’Or ambitions – Alexander-Arnold recently hinted he would like to aim for the Ballon d’Or while in the prime of his career. And although Rodri won the Ballon d’Or in 2024, it has more frequently been claimed by LaLiga players than Premier League players in recent memory. Alexander-Arnold could boost his chances of winning football’s biggest individual accolade by standing out in a star-studded Real Madrid team with his own unique role.
Experiencing different culture – On one hand, Alexander-Arnold is in his comfort zone, playing for his boyhood club for the only team he has ever known. That may suit him, but he may also be eager to challenge himself in a different league and culture. Spanish football is experiencing a resurgence and it would be fascinating to see how he would adapt to that style of play.
Bellingham linkup – If he was to move to Real Madrid, Alexander-Arnold would be able to link up with another English superstar in the shape of Jude Bellingham. The pair get on well thanks to being international teammates and that may help Alexander-Arnold settle in the Spanish capital. Bellingham certainly hit the ground running after joining Real Madrid and Alexander-Arnold could back himself to do the same.