Trent Alexander-Arnold drops cryptic message after England snub and Real Madrid punishment
Former Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold posted the message 'Real Madrid and nothing else' after his England and Los Blancos snub. Alexander-Arnold dropped to the bench for the Spanish giants' Madrid derby encounter with Atletico Madrid but was introduced to provide the winning goal for Vinicius Jr in a 3-2 win for Alvaro Arbeloa's side.
The 27-year-old hit the headlines after being omitted from Thomas Tuchel's 35-man Three Lions squad for the forthcoming international break with Tino Livramento and Djed Spence preferred. Then his switch the substitutes came after he was late for a meeting in preparation for the clash with their city rivals.
Leaving Liverpool proved to be controversial on Merseyside after he ran his contract down before uniting with international teammate Jude Bellingham at the Bernabeu. Following a week where the full-back has been the talking point again, he posted to his Instagram, he posted: " Real Madrid and nothing else."
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Alexander-Arnold was introduced shortly after the hour mark, replacing veteran Dani Carvajal. The England full-back dropped to the bench after starting in both of their wins over Manchester City in the Champions League after it was reported that he broke the club's 'code of conduct'.
Speaking after the win, Arbeloa said: "Every game I choose the best starting XI. Dani Carvajal had great minutes and I’m very pleased with him.
"Trent had a great impact and I’m lucky to have many good options, and that everyone is contributing as they did today. I repeat once again, in every game I select the best possible line-up for the team."
Real Madrid remain four points behind league leaders Barcelona after coming out on top in a five-goal thriller against Atletico Madrid.
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Vinicius Jr scored twice, including the winner 18 minutes from time after Alexander-Arnold's pass, to beat Diego Simeone's side but they had to defend late on with a man disadvantage after Federico Valverde was shown a straight red card.
This season has been plagued by injury for Alexander-Arnold after finding his integration period in the Spanish capital hampered by recurring injuries.
Tuchel explained the reasoning behind the snub, he said: "I know very well what Trent can offer us.
"I played many times against him and suffered when he played against my teams with Liverpool. So I know very well about his strength and what he can give.
"But at the moment it is like we have evidence how good we were in September, October, November, and the players who are in camp for right full-back, they have to push for their ticket, they have to compete, they have to show again that they deserve this."
He has made 14 appearances in La Liga for Los Blancos and made a further seven outings in the Champions League but his creativity hasn't quite been replicated, as he shown for a number of years at Liverpool, providing just three assists in the league.
An injury earlier in the campaign restricted his availability for the encounter at Anfield, with his former club running out 1-0 winners thanks to Alexis Mac Allister's strike, but he came on with nine minutes remaining.
There is still a chance for Alexander-Arnold to reunite with his former club again in the Champions League knockout stages as they could lock horns in the semi-final, if Liverpool overcome holders Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid end Harry Kane's hopes with Bayern Munich.