Following Trent Alexander-Arnold’s announcement of his departure from Liverpool at the end of the season, his first appearance at Anfield against Arsenal was met with boos from a significant portion of the home crowd during their 2-2 draw.
Captain Virgil van Dijk acknowledged the difficult situation for his teammate, stating that while it “would not be ‘easy’ to accept,” Alexander-Arnold would have to “deal with it,” just as the rest of the team did on Sunday.
Manager Arne Slot commented that “everybody can have their own opinion,” and fellow defender Andy Robertson described witnessing the booing as “not nice.” Van Dijk echoed Slot’s sentiment but with stronger emphasis, saying, “I think the manager said it right in the press conference that you can’t decide how anyone feels about the decision he made for him and his family. The reaction happened. He has to deal with it. We as a team have to deal with that as well, by the way. But I think maybe he expected this. We have two more games and then we part ways and he will go somewhere else.” Alexander-Arnold is widely anticipated to join Real Madrid in the summer.
Despite the circumstances, Van Dijk expressed his sadness at Alexander-Arnold’s impending exit. “I wasn’t really expecting anything,” the Dutch skipper admitted. “It’s not easy, not at all. We’re here for him. We are gutted that he’s not here with us next year because he’s a fantastic player in my opinion, with outstanding, exceptional qualities that we have all been seeing over the last seven years I’ve been here. We’re definitely going to miss him when he’s gone.”
Van Dijk also hoped the negativity surrounding Alexander-Arnold wouldn’t overshadow the team’s end-of-season celebrations. “It shouldn’t [overshadow the title celebrations]. There are a lot more players that also deserve an amazing day. I don’t think it will. He made the decision for himself and he’s at peace with it. We have two more games that he will have to play a part in as well. I’m sure he will because he’s a fantastic player and then we’ll say goodbye to him.”
In the match against Arsenal, Slot started Conor Bradley, seemingly to provide him with experience as he is expected to succeed Alexander-Arnold next season. While acknowledging Bradley isn’t yet ready for a full 90 minutes, Slot confirmed he would not hesitate to call upon Alexander-Arnold in their remaining matches.