Dominik Szoboszlai appointed himself the peacemaker. The Hungary captain was walking next to Trent Alexander-Arnold on Sunday as the soon-to-be Galactico faced up to the Kop and was met with a less-than-pleasant reaction.
You did not need to be a body language expert to work out what was going through Alexander-Arnold’s head. His mind was racing, probably wanting the Anfield pitch – the turf he grew up with a dream of walking on – to swallow him up.
Szoboszlai put up a hand to the fans behind the goal and gestured for them to lay off and cheer for him. His plea fell on deaf ears and the jeers continued. Not as loud as they were whenever Alexander-Arnold touched the ball, but audible enough to send a message.
Liverpool’s vice-captain, who joined the club when he was still knee-high, now knows exactly what the fans think of him. He has been getting pelters online all season for his contract saga but many thought the negativity was restricted to social media. No, this was the real world.
We are now in the messy stage of the break-up and Alexander-Arnold’s exit is certainly not amicable with the fanbase. It feels a bit like when a couple separate but continue to live together until one party can find a new home.
About 20 minutes after the game, the ground now empty, Alexander-Arnold re-emerged for a post-match warm-down. Some of his fellow substitutes doing the same, like Diogo Jota, put an arm around him, as did coaches John Heitinga and Aaron Briggs.
Trent Alexander-Arnold had a miserable afternoon on Sunday as Liverpool drew with Arsenal
Alexander-Arnold was booed by large sections of the Anfield crowd after being brought on
Alexander-Arnold and Liverpool boss Arne Slot have a difficult situation to manage this month
He was clearly hurting and it was awkward to watch. The word is he was expecting a negative reaction but perhaps not quite to this level. He wanted to get it over and done with and now that is done.
In the dressing room, more players asked if he was OK.
The timing of his exit announcement, 10am on Monday last week, was for two reasons: he wanted to face up to the fans and confirm his future before the end of the season, while allowing enough time for the dust to settle before the final weekend of May.
That, of course, is when Liverpool will lift the Premier League trophy in front of fans for the first time since 1990 (eight years before Alexander-Arnold was born) and then parade it around the city on an open-top bus the day after.
Sunday felt like a mass event of Liverpool fans getting something off their chest. They pay their money – thousands a season – and have every right to boo a player if they see fit, just as they have a right to clap him if that is how they feel.
Alexander-Arnold is the Scouse heartbeat of the team living out the fans’ dreams every time he pulls on the shirt, be it one time or 353 in his case – so the feeling is one of betrayal and disgust at how this saga was played out.
Manager Arne Slot and the rest of the staff have not changed in their approach to him. While Alexander-Arnold is a Liverpool player, they will treat him fairly and just like any other squad member.
Sporting director Richard Hughes, who led the talks with Alexander-Arnold’s brother and agent Tyler over a new deal, has also taken it upon himself in recent weeks to check on the right back and his wellbeing.
Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes are trying to ensure Alexander-Arnold’s wellbeing
Two weeks ago, Alexander-Arnold was partying in front of the Kop as Liverpool sealed the title
Real Madrid are pushing to sign Alexander-Arnold before the inaugural Club World Cup in June
Will the boos impact their decision over whether to let Alexander-Arnold leave early for the Club World Cup? Again, nothing changes for Liverpool – if Real Madrid pay the money, which they have not yet, they will consider it.
Letting Alexander-Arnold depart early would benefit Liverpool: they receive money, they get him off the wage bill and they can spend those funds elsewhere. They would also hamper direct rivals Manchester City or Chelsea’s chances of winning the tournament and taking home up to £97million in prize money.
One of the main reasons for fans’ ire is that they feel the whole saga was calculated from the minute Alexander-Arnold signed a four-year deal in 2021. They think he was obviously running down his contract so he could leave on a free.
It is interesting to note Real Madrid’s strategy in this regard. Kylian Mbappe, David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger have all joined them for nothing having run down their contracts at their former clubs.
Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate is next in Madrid’s sights and his deal expires at the end of next season.
Talks have stalled in recent months over a new contract for the Frenchman but he has given no indication he would want to leave. In fact, he sat in the Main Stand alone last week after the 5-1 win over Tottenham to sample the fan experience, perhaps showing how he loves life playing for Liverpool.
Regardless of Konate’s future or Alexander-Arnold’s exit, many in the dressing room believe Anfield remains the place to be.
‘For me there is no other place to be at this point,’ said Virgil van Dijk.
Ibrahima Konate is next on Madrid’s list of targets, with his contract due to expire next summer
For title-winning captain Virgil van Dijk, though, Liverpool remains the place to be right now
‘When the final whistle is there we will miss him (Alexander-Arnold) after that but we still have two more games, the trophy lift and a parade so there are plenty of moments we can share together and then we will see what happens.
‘It has to be a big summer and I trust the club and the people who make the decisions to do the right thing.
‘As champions it is a very difficult task to remain champions but I feel with additions we can make that step up.
‘We can have a proper pre-season, we can work on the things the manager wants us to do in possession and without possession, a lot of hard work will be done. It’s something to look forward to, it’s an exciting time to be associated with Liverpool.’
