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Arne Slot has opened up on Trent Alexander-Arnold and his performance against Manchester United on Sunday evening.
Liverpool missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League after being held to a thrilling 2-2 draw by Manchester United at Anfield.
Lisandro Martinez gave United a surprise lead in the 52nd minute before Cody Gakpo equalized for Liverpool.
The Liverpool right-back endured one of his worst games in recent memory, struggling both defensively and offering little going forward.
He was eventually substituted late in the game for Conor Bradley after a display that raised questions about his focus.
The timing of Alexander-Arnold’s poor showing coincided with reports of interest from Real Madrid, with the defender now in the final six months of his contract at Liverpool.
Jamie Carragher noted that “the game couldn’t have gone much worse for him” and suggested the Real Madrid speculation may have affected his performance.’
What did Arne Slot say about Trent Alexander-Arnold?
Despite some of the widespread criticism, even some vocal disdain from some sections of the Anfield faithful, Arne Slot, however, defended his player, stating that Alexander-Arnold’s struggles were more due to facing quality opponents in Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot rather than any transfer speculation.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Slot said:
“I don’t believe in those things but I think it’s 9 out of 10 people will tell you it affected him.
But I am one of the 10 that tells you that I don’t think that affected him.”
“What affected him is that he had to play Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot which are two starters for Portugal.
Great, great, great players.”
“We have a fantastic player here in Diogo Jota, and he’s not even playing for Portugal – mostly he’s not playing – so that tells you how much quality United has.”
“And if these players set themselves to a game, and that is what United do once in a while, then it’s very difficult to play against them.”
The Dutchman continued:
“No, it wasn’t that he had to play on his own against those two because Ryan (Gravenberch) was 9 out of 10 times close to that situation.
And these players also have special qualities.
“I think that is more important 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, probably everybody is going to tell you it had to do with the rumours but my opinion is different.
However, the 46-year-old also made sure to acknowledge that his vice-captain has some issues in the game:
“But it was clear that Trent had some difficult moments, as we as a team had.
That probably has happened before, and mostly I think against quality players like United have – especially in the positions he had to face.”
The draw means Liverpool maintain their position at the top of the Premier League table with 45 points, six points clear of nearest challengers Arsenal
However, the dropped points represent a missed opportunity to extend their advantage after the Gunners themselves were held to a draw at Brighton
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