What should have been the continuation of a fairytale turned into a toxic break-up for one of Kirkby’s most talented alumni. In his final season, Trent Alexander-Arnold showcased the best and worst parts of what we’ll be missing.
As Liverpool’s vice-captain entered August 2024, he did so under the stewardship of a new manager for the first time in his senior career.
With change came uncertainty for us all, but perhaps none more so than the man who had been selected as Virgil van Dijk‘s deputy just 12 months earlier.
It was a bumpy year for the player under a brighter spotlight than anyone else in red, who despite exiting the party with the holy grail around his neck, has still managed to do so under a cloud.
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD, 2024/25
Started: 37 (All competitions)
On as a substitute: 7
Goals: 4
Assists: 7
Overall Season Rating: 7
Showing promise on the pitch
Away from the circus, there was quietly much to enjoy about Alexander-Arnold’s final campaign on Merseyside.
While it was his driest season on the assists front since making the right-back spot his own under Jurgen Klopp, he blocked out the background noise and passed the eye test with flying colours during the early months of 2024/25.
It remains the case that there is no current player in Arne Slot‘s squad capable of replicating his unique sprinklings of stardust, as demonstrated when he came off the bench to lay on two assists for Mohamed Salah at St. James’ Park.
Then, as the festive period approached, things began to turn sour. Liverpool’s right-back opened his account with a neat finish as part of the most convincing victory in the title procession away to West Ham in December.
His ‘keep talking’ gesture only served to do exactly what it said on the tin, with some choosing to believe it was a dismissal of the reports coming out of Spain at the time.
In light of what we now know, it feels like the ultimate show of disrespect and his subsequent showing at home to Man United amplified accusations that his head was already elsewhere.
To give him some credit, things could have unravelled from that point and the situation could easily have got a whole lot uglier than it ended up being.
A complicated final chapter
From a long way out, it became apparent how this sorry story was about to end. His relative silence in comparison to his peers was deafening and certainly not conducive to manipulating the pre-exit PR.
The disparity between his humble, local boy image – worshipped throughout his life under Klopp – and the severed ties he released from his grip with his sterile departure video is striking.
Rival fans who refuse to acknowledge the intricacies at play will never understand the commotion and they don’t need to.
Alexander-Arnold built so much of his Anfield identity upon the notion that he was us and we were him. There’s no doubt that, as he was working through the ranks, there was more than an element of truth in that.
Still, he departs without the blessing that, perhaps naively, he thought he could rescue on the way out. The injury sustained at home to PSG in March looked at one point like it could have been the final act.
By all accounts, he worked relentlessly to ensure his Liverpool career ended on his own terms, likely while knowing the frosty reception that awaited him upon return.
The official line is that Alexander-Arnold informed the manager of his desire to leave in March, though you sense the wheels were in motion long before that.
It was never going to be a painless process, but little of the way in which it was dealt functioned to smooth things over with the supporters, and people don’t forget things like that. It matters.
How will he be remembered?
The legacy Liverpool’s No. 66 leaves behind is far more complex than can be done justice within a handful of paragraphs, and certainly can’t be untangled by morons like Rio Ferdinand.
The discrepancies between the greetings he received against Leicester, Arsenal and Crystal Palace illustrate this perfectly. There is no right and wrong way to feel, but the leaving of Liverpool should never be straightforward.
What can’t be denied is the success. He achieved everything he could have ever dreamed of and has a medal selection Steven Gerrard would swap for in a heartbeat.
And yet, the decision to turn his back on his home city and the carelessness with which much of the debacle was handled has left an undeniably sour taste.
The lure of Real Madrid has been too much to resist for Europe’s top talents for decades, and we have been in this boat before, but what makes this one tricky is that it feels more of a sideways move than in times gone by.
Any conceivable footballing ambition of Alexander-Arnold can be realised at Anfield, which is why the theories of many are that this has been a brand-influenced decision.
His late heroics at Leicester ought to have provided the closure he needed, but the badge kissing and solo lap of honour during the title party against Crystal Palace felt somewhat artificial.
Trent is without doubt one of the best footballers the city has ever produced, but the way you leave counts and for many the damage done will be irreparable.
Only time will tell whether this is something he lives to regret, but crucially, Liverpool have recovered from worse than this and his vacated spot now lies in the capable hands of Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong.
Best moment: A dramatic late parting gift away at Leicester.
Worst moment: The performance against Man United at Anfield. Less said of that the better.
Role next season: Getting knocked out of Europe by the Reds, with any luck!
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