Trent Alexander-Arnold endured a difficult evening on Sunday as Liverpool played out a 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Anfield.
The Liverpool full-back has been called out by and pundits over his performance with many claiming it’s due to speculation linking the England international with a move to Real Madrid.
However, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has disagreed with the idea that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s lacklustre display in his team’s 2-2 draw with United is as a result of the speculation.
Speaking after the match, Slot shut down claims that Alexander-Arnold has let the noise surrounding his future affect him, and said it was United’s quality that made it a difficult afternoon for the right-back.
“I don’t believe in those things,” Slot said in his post-match news conference. “I think nine out of 10 people will tell you that it affected him, but I’m one of the 10 that tells you I don’t think that affected him.
“What I think affected him was that he had to play Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot who are two starters for Portugal, great, great players. We have a fantastic player here in Diogo Jota and he’s not even playing for Portugal, so that tells you how much quality United have. And if these players set themselves to a game, and that is what United once in a while does, then it’s very difficult to play against them.
Trent Alexander-Arnold in action against Diogo Dalot of Manchester United (Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images)
“I think it is more difficult for Trent to play against Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot than it is the rumours that were there in the week. That’s my opinion, but everyone will probably tell you it’s to do with the rumours.”
He added: “It was clear Trent had some difficult moments as we as a team had but that is also for Trent not the first time. I think the majority of games he has played for this club he was very, very good but I can’t believe if people tell me he’s never played a bad game for this club, so that’s probably happened before and mostly against quality players like United have.”
Alexander-Arnold is out of contract at the end of the season and he is Madrid’s top defensive target following a long-term injury to right-back Dani Carvajal.
