Trent Alexander-Arnold’s parting gift for Liverpool — and a final moment for him to savour

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In the rush of euphoria, adrenaline coursing through his veins, Trent Alexander-Arnold tore off his shirt, tossing it aside as he charged towards the corner flag in celebration.

He knew what this meant: for his team, for the club, for the supporters, for himself. He was 20 years old when, in the breathless aftermath of a Champions League final, he memorably described himself as a “normal lad from Liverpool whose dream has just come true”. Nearly six years on, more worldly in his status and his ambitions, he had just delivered what looked like a parting gift.

As well as condemning Leicester City to relegation, the England full-back’s 76th-minute goal at the King Power Stadium took Liverpool to within touching distance of the Premier League title. The outcome has looked certain for weeks, but beat Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield next Sunday and they will be confirmed as champions. That moment could even come on Wednesday night if Arsenal lose at home to Crystal Palace on the same night.

“We’re so close to winning the league now: one win, very close,” Alexander-Arnold told Sky Sports afterwards. “It was a very special moment.”

The personal context made it even more so, given the widespread expectation that he will join Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer, having run down his contract to its final weeks.

Slot embraces Alexander-Arnold after the game (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)

There were fears when he was forced out of last month’s Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield that he might have kicked his last ball for Liverpool. But the shot that he lashed through a crowd of players at Leicester, just five minutes into his comeback after his five-and-a-half weeks out, was the act of a player with unfinished business and no intention of going quietly.

The frenzied manner of Alexander-Arnold’s celebrations — including an ill-advised knee-slide on a dry pitch — seemed to reflect something more than just the significance for his team. Some wondered whether his delight was that of a man who might yet commit his future to the club. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher suggested on the television commentary that, as well as joy, there might have been “a little bit of anger in there with the criticism that he’s taken because of the contract situation”.

For much of the campaign, Alexander-Arnold has swerved post-match media duties, seemingly unwilling to face probing questions about his future. But he was happy to speak to Sky Sports on this occasion. “I said all season I’m not going to speak on my situation or comment on details but days like today are special,” he said. “Scoring goals, winning games, being close to winning titles, special moments that will live with me forever.”

None of it was definitive, but he didn’t sound like a player ready to follow Mohammed Salah and Virgil van Dijk by signing a new deal with Liverpool. Still more out than in, perhaps, to borrow Salah’s phrase from earlier in the season.

Liverpool’s supporters serenaded him on his return to action from the bench at Leicester and again after his goal, but there remains an awkwardness around the situation. Even among those who recognise Real Madrid’s place at the top of football’s food chain, there is little enthusiasm for the idea of showering a player with rose petals if he is leaving Anfield entirely on his own terms.

In contrast to his reaction to scoring the goal, Alexander-Arnold looked a little tentative when applauding Liverpool’s fans at the final whistle — only to be shoved forward by Van Dijk. “He pushed me to the front to soak it in,” he said, grateful for his captain’s gesture and for the supporters’ show of appreciation.

Arne Slot was equally happy for Alexander-Arnold to take the acclaim. “It’s a big moment and big players like to have big moments in their career,” the Liverpool coach said. “Virgil had one last week (the winning goal against West Ham United), a special moment, Mo has had them many times this season and players like Trent, they step up when needed. He did that against Newcastle (with two assists in December) and in his second-half performance against Paris Saint-Germain when I was just waiting for him to score a goal and then he had to go off with an injury.”

It was far from certain that Alexander-Arnold would be back to play a significant role in the run-in. Even early last week, there were doubts among Slot’s staff whether the full-back might be in contention for a place in the squad for Leicester, but his work with physiotherapist Joe Lewis and rehabilitation coach Dr David Ridings enabled him to return ahead of schedule — something that was not lost on Slot. 

“The headline today should be (about) the goal he scored and not about his contract,” Slot said, “but what I can say is that it would be ridiculous if someone (questions) his commitment for this club. The work he has put in to be back today and score such an important goal — and all the work he has done for this club in all the years he is here — no one should, in my opinion, argue with his commitment for this club.”

There was also a reminder of his quality — not just with the goal he scored but with the way he elevated Liverpool’s performance almost immediately. It is not easy to say this when the champions-elect have kept winning in the Premier League, but they missed him and his passing range during his absence, particularly during the Carabao Cup final defeat by Newcastle.

Alexander-Arnold has been so important to the success of this Liverpool team. Even this season, playing in a slightly more restrained full-back role in Slot’s system, he has made huge contributions to their attacking play. The equalising goal he scored at Aston Villa in February was crucial on a night when his team faced a serious examination of their title-winning credentials.

He will be a hard act to follow if he leaves Anfield this summer. His understudy Conor Bradley is an excellent prospect, but he struggled to get to grips with Leicester winger Stephy Mavididi during a difficult start to the game. The 21-year-old fared much better as Liverpool’s attacking threat grew after half-time, but even then, Alexander-Arnold’s introduction at right-back seemed like the obvious change for Slot to make as the stalemate dragged on.

This Liverpool team was built with Alexander-Arnold’s unique skillset in mind. It will need recalibrating, somehow, if he is not around next season. Even without him, they created an abundance of chances at Leicester, but composure in front of goal was lacking. A miss by Salah in the third minute, when his shot struck the inside of both posts, seemed to set the tone for the next 70 minutes.

Alexander-Arnold handled Mavididi better than Bradley (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Even in the immediate build-up to the goal, Salah, inside the six-yard box, nudged Van Dijk’s header onto the post and Diogo Jota hit the crossbar. When the ball ran loose, after a poor touch from Leicester’s Boubakary Soumare, Alexander-Arnold steadied himself before lashing a fierce shot past Hermansen. Remarkably, it was the first time he had scored for Liverpool with his left foot.

It was possible to watch his celebrations and wonder whether he was demonstrating his long-term commitment to the club. It was also possible to wonder whether, enjoying the fans’ adulation and the satisfaction of taking his hometown club to within touching distance of the Premier League title, he might find himself wondering whether he would really be better off in a Real Madrid team whose flaws were brutally exposed over the course of two-legged Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal.

But all the mood music has pointed towards a parting of the ways, in which case the goal at Leicester will take its place among Alexander-Arnold’s most memorable moments in a Liverpool shirt: piledrivers, deft curlers, a brilliant goal at the other end of the same stadium on Boxing Day in 2019, en route to their previous Premier League title, and indeed a corner kick that has gone down in Anfield folklore, setting up Divock Origi in that Champions League semi-final against Barcelona earlier that same year.

His contribution to the club’s recent history has been huge. Whether or not Sunday’s goal proves to be his last in a red shirt, it will be one of the moments that define their 20th league title success — a final flourish, a parting gift, or just another dream coming true for a normal lad from Liverpool who wants to have it all.

(Top photo: Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)

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