Arnold's Liverpool regret, Anfield return and problems at Real Madrid

Trent Alexander-Arnold's Liverpool regret, Anfield return and problems at Real Madrid

Trent Alexander-Arnold hasn't had the season he would've hoped for after departing Liverpool for Real Madrid last summer

Trent Alexander-Arnold's departure from Liverpool last summer was one of the more contentious farewells in the annals of the Premier League. Alexander-Arnold, 26, left Anfield for Real Madrid having won two Premier League titles, a Champions League, FA Cup, two League Cups, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup.

Yet sections of the Anfield faithful mercilessly booed the gifted right-back shortly after he had made his intentions to leave the club public after months of speculation. The player's ongoing silence amid strong rumours prior to his stunning announcement was perhaps not forgotten in haste.

Madrid ultimately paid £10million to Liverpool to secure Alexander-Arnold at the start of last summer. Yet his dream move to the Spanish capital has been underwhelming so far.

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From Alexander-Arnold's comments upon leaving Liverpool, the fans' reaction as he came back to Anfield with Madrid, and his struggles for his new club, Mirror Football takes a look at how his last few months have unfolded.

Alexander-Arnold's regret

Upon leaving Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold revealed that he was empathetic to those supporters who failed to see his reasoning for leaving his boyhood side. His statement was tinged with regret, acknowledging his exit would cause waves of anger and disappointment.

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"I completely understand the feelings that go with that [leaving Liverpool] and I’ve felt it myself so I completely understand that the news will disappoint a lot of people, will anger people, it will make them upset," he said after making his decision to join Madrid.

"Obviously that went into the decision as well – it’s something you don’t want to do, you don’t want to ever have these moments where you feel like you’re letting a lot of people down, you’re disappointing a lot of people. But I’ve had to make a decision for me, it’s as simple as that.

"I know the news will take a bit of time to set in and people won’t be happy and they’ll be disappointed. At the end of the day, you can be angry and hurt at me but I just hope that the lads, the rest of the team, the staff, everyone else is able to feel how good a season this has been."

Anfield return

Alexander-Arnold perhaps didn't foresee that he would return to his boyhood club so quickly. Liverpool hosted Madrid in the Champions League in November, just months after he left, and the reception was perhaps all too predictable.

The full-back began the night on the bench for Los Blancos. Shortly after Liverpool had taken a 1-0 lead, the crowd was in full flow and they further exercised their vocal cords when Alexander-Arnold came off the bench with 10 minutes remaining.

The former Anfield hero was largely greeted by boos as he made his way onto the pitch. Fans then made a point of singing about club legend Steven Gerrard and Alexander-Arnold's replacement at right-back, Conor Bradley, in a dig to their former favourite.

Real Madrid struggles

While Alexander-Arnold's transfer has generated headlines, his performances on the pitch have been less spectacular. The right-back had to contend with a rapid managerial change after bedding into his new surroundings, with Xabi Alonso ruthlessly replaced by Alvaro Arbeloa just six months into the job.

On the pitch, Alexander-Arnold has rotated with Dani Carvajal for the right-back berth. In September, just weeks into his Madrid career, the English international suffered a major blow when he was sidelined for around six weeks through injury.

Spanish media have also been critical of his performances too, with Marca describing him as "clueless and insubstantial." In December, he was forced off the pitch with injury again, during what was his best performance for the club against Athletic Club, a match in which he gained his first La Liga assist.

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Rumours were rife that Alexander-Arnold had even been told to seek out a new club this summer, with Manchester City and Bayern Munich thought to be interested. But those claims have subsequently been shut down.

After his first start for over two months last weekend, where he registered an assist in the 4-1 win over Real Sociedad, Arbeloa claimed Alexander-Arnold's future was, in fact, bright.

“Working with [Alexander-Arnold], he strikes me as a very intelligent guy, who understands the game very well, and quickly grasps what we want from him,” Arbeloa told reporters after Saturday's game.

“He's not the typical full-back who's always going to be out wide, he can also play centrally. We want players to be able to interchange positions. We're lucky to have a player like that.”

It remains a campaign he'll likely want to put behind him, but remaining injury-free and continuing to impress Arbeloa will add some gloss to it. Whether it'll be enough to make Thomas Tuchel's World Cup squad is another matter, though.

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