We need to talk about Trent Alexander-Arnold's decision to leave Liverpool after El Clasico misery

Liverpool saw Trent Alexander-Arnold leave the club for Real Madrid in the summer on a free transfer, but the homegrown star may regret doing so after events that have unfolded this weekend.

Liverpool fell two goals behind against Brentford in London on Saturday evening, before a third goal in the second half condemned them to another loss in the Premier League – their fourth in a row.

Arne Slot’s defeat to the Bees marked their worst run in the Premier League since 2020-21. It leaves them dangling in seventh place in the table, despite leading the pack at the start of the month.

And recent events in both England and Spain mean that Trent Alexander-Arnold won’t be happy with his decision to leave, with Conor Bradley and Milos Kerkez combining for their first goal, just 24 hours before he was left as an unused substitute vs Barcelona for Real Madrid.

Trent Alexander-Arnold failed to play for Real Madrid vs Barcelona

Real Madrid vs Barcelona is always a huge spectacle, but Sunday’s clash was especially vital.

If Madrid won, they would have gone five points clear of Barcelona in the La Liga table, but if the visitors were successful at the Santiago Bernabeu, they would instead go top.

The first-half was action-packed; Kylian Mbappe had a goal ruled out and then actually opened the scoring, before Marcus Rashford assisted Fer Lopez to level, while Jude Bellingham scored on the stroke of half-time. Tensions then rose when Mbappe missed a penalty, though Madrid held firm and Pedri was sent off in stoppage time.

But through all the drama, Alexander-Arnold was only able to watch from the sidelines. And a huge indication as to how much Xabi Alonso rates him was when Federico Valverde started at right-back, despite natural options Dani Carvajal and Trent being on the bench.

Carvajal was then introduced ahead of Alexander-Arnold with 20 minutes to go, and that was a telling sign.

Alexander-Arnold has only started three games for Real Madrid this season since his move, being withdrawn against Marseille in the Champions League after just five minutes.

But even prior to Alexander-Arnold’s injury in the Champions League, he never finished a full match for Los Blancos, with just 151 minutes of La Liga action from a possible 360 before his hamstring injury.

Trent Alexander-Arnold must regret Liverpool exit

And, to make matters even worse, he’ll be envious of how Liverpool’s full-backs are operating this season.

Watching on from the sidelines for six weeks won’t be ideal, and it will be tough to see his hometown club struggling despite Alexander-Arnold leaving Liverpool over the summer.

That will have been compounded against Brentford, when Conor Bradley – his replacement so far this season – crossed for Milos Kerkez to slam home on the stroke of half-time.

He’ll feel that he could have had a major impact at Liverpool, stopping them from sliding down the table.

With Valverde being preferred to start, and Carvajal being brought off the bench, that momentarily makes Alexander-Arnold the third-choice right-back in the Spanish capital.

If he had stayed at Liverpool, there is no doubting that Alexander-Arnold would have been first-choice, owing to injuries and a lack of form at Anfield. England teammate Eberechi Eze even said Alexander-Arnold has the ‘best right foot’ in football.

Sometimes, the grass isn’t always greener and Alexander-Arnold is slowly finding that out, as it stands.

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