Trent Alexander-Arnold ‘deserves’ his part in Liverpool title party: Arne Slot

LONDON – Arne Slot said Trent Alexander-Arnold “deserves” to be part of Liverpool’s title celebrations despite revealing he was unhappy with the defender’s performances in training at the start of the season.

The England international announced his decision to quit his boyhood club earlier in May and is widely expected to join Real Madrid. He was

booed by Liverpool fans

when he came on as a second-half substitute in last week’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal at Anfield and did not play in the 3-2 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion on May 19.

Liverpool, who

wrapped up the Premier League title

in April with four games to spare, will be presented with the trophy after their game against FA Cup winners Crystal Palace on May 25.

Slot was asked whether he had concerns that the celebrations would be overshadowed by an negative reaction to Alexander-Arnold. He said he had yet to make a decision on the extent of the right-back’s involvement.

“I haven’t decided on that one yet but I think this should be a day that everybody is going to enjoy. It’s been 35 years everybody is waiting for this moment,” Slot said.

Liverpool lifted the 2020 Premier League trophy behind closed doors due to Covid restrictions.

Slot, in his first season at Anfield, also said celebrations after Liverpool sealed the title against Tottenham were special.

“I’m hoping that we can add a moment like this to it and I think everybody that’s in this stadium deserves to be there, the fans, the staff, but also the players,” he said.

“One of my players is Trent so he definitely deserves to be there as well because he’s been part of an incredibly successful season and an incredibly successful (few) years at this club.”

While Slot hopes Alexander-Arnold gets a fond farewell from fans, the Dutchman was critical about the right-back’s efforts in training during his early weeks as Liverpool manager.

“I wasn’t completely happy with every single minute how he was on the training ground. So, in my opinion, in certain moments he could do a bit more, to say it mildly,” he said.

“I said to him ‘You are a better defender than everybody tells you, but unfortunately you don’t show it all the time’.”

Slot added that he told Alexander-Arnold that if he was focused there were not many players that could go past him because he is “fast, he’s agile, he has a great mentality”.

“It’s about showing it every single game, because in this world we are judged not only on the 34 games we do well, we are mainly judged on the four games that we don’t do so well,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said he was disappointed and turned off the TV when he heard fans booing Trent Alexander-Arnold in the Arsenal game.

“I watched the game when he came on and I heard the booing,” he said.

“I am old so I thought it might be my hearing, so I switched up the volume... I needed another 10 seconds to realise and I switched the TV off. I honestly couldn’t have been more disappointed. This is not us, 100 per cent not us.” AFP, REUTERS