Love does odd things to people, and nowhere is that more pronounced than Liverpool. The descent into madness happened first gradually, then suddenly, and now fans are drowning in conspiracy and shaping fantasies at a time the primary concern should be the unbridled joy of a 20th league title.
But Trent Alexander-Arnold will do that to you. Genuine uniqueness in the world’s biggest and most all-encompassing sport is almost impossibly rare, yet Alexander-Arnold is a truly singular footballer. No right-back has ever functioned quite like this, and any that do so in the future will probably only exist because he has.
Fans are trapped between two poles – they intimately understand his inimitable brilliance, but desperately want to believe it is not real, and will do anything to justify that. One social media trend after his Leicester City goal was to simply act as if he didn’t exist, that the score was still 0-0, that he wasn’t racing towards the away fans and wheeling his shirt over his head.
This angle of the celebration
pic.twitter.com/baEI5gU8Pg
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 20, 2025
This is straight out of the teenager’s handbook for dysfunctional relationships, but then none of this has been handled in a hugely adult fashion. The refusal by both the club and player to say anything concrete about his future at any point has created a knowledge void, filled by conspiracy and anger and false hope. Mohamed Salah not posting a selfie with Alexander-Arnold after the game is seen as a harbinger of the apocalypse.
A month before the end of the season, it seems obvious that no news is not good news. Salah and Virgil van Dijk’s contracts have both been confirmed on higher salaries than executives had hoped for. If Liverpool or Alexander-Arnold could allay the madness, they would have done. Instead, they are just delaying the mutiny, keeping the good vibes going on borrowed time.
He was suitably ambiguous on Sky Sports post-match, saying: “I’m not going to speak on my situation. I’m not going to go into details. These days like today are always special.
“Scoring goals, winning games, being close to winning titles – these are special moments that will live with me forever and I’m glad to be a part of them.”
But from inside the King Power, Alexander-Arnold’s shirtless celebration on Sunday looked like the relieved roar of a man terrified he wouldn’t get the chance to celebrate scoring in front of the Liverpool fans again. If a new contract had been signed, this emotional exorcism would not be how it is announced. There are press releases and stage-managed video clips for that.
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It is a rare privilege to know you are doing something for the final time, to truly revel in that moment and take everything you can from it. Be conscious of every second, every sinew, every screaming fan.
This was the outsized reaction of someone who wanted to remember it forever. As Arne Slot said, there is no questioning Alexander-Arnold’s commitment to Liverpool while they still employ him. If and when he joins Real Madrid, he will always be both a fan and hometown boy. He has lived his dream, taken everything he can from it and given everything he is in the process. The future should not tarnish the past.
But if Liverpool’s future is Conor Bradley, then there will have been some deeply concerning moments for those watching on. Exposed one-on-one against Stephy Mavididi in the first half, Bradley was beaten repeatedly until Ryan Gravenberch was deployed to offer much-needed assistance. Going forward he was more consistent – including two key passes – but still flawed.
This is not to say Bradley is incapable of becoming Liverpool’s first-choice right-back or a brilliant one at that, but he is 21 and has started five Premier League games this season. For the excitement around his goal and two assists against Chelsea in January 2024, injury and inconsistency has meant he has not yet developed as hoped.
Filling the physical and spiritual gulf left by Alexander-Arnold is basically unfathomable, so Slot will have to restructure the team to protect Bradley and share the responsibility. On an afternoon which became Alexander-Arnold’s within five minutes of his emergence off the bench, here was yet another reminder of what Liverpool will lose, and might well never regain.
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