Trent Alexander-Arnold’s struggle for minutes at Real Madrid continued during the weekend as the Englishman was almost as good as an unused substitute in the stalemate at Vallecans.
The former Liverpool man was brought in for the final seven minutes, placing the makeshift right-back Federico Valverde, in a forced alteration due to the midfielder’s injury.
The decision of Xabi Alonso to deploy the Uruguayan at right-back is an additional insult to injury for Trent, who already struggled for minutes before the injury to his main competitor, Dani Carvajal.
Can Real Madrid get any worse with Trent Alexander-Arnold?
Trent Alexander-Arnold has only started two games since the start of the season, with his last start coming at the end of August. Although the 26-year-old spent a short while out injured, he has since returned but to no recognition.
His last four appearances have been as a substitute, none of which he played up to 10 minutes of normal time.
One may think Xabi Alonso is cautious because of the Englishman’s defensive reputation, but Real Madrid have not been so solid defensively, while lacking the creativity of the Liverpool legend.
Nevertheless, Real’s only comfortable win since the start of October was the 4-0 victory over relegation-threatened Valencia, who are no threat to any of the top 10 teams by the standard.
In the absence of Dani Carvajal, if Xabi Alonso does not trust Trent Alexander-Arnold, then it says a lot about the manager rather than the player.
The manager maintained that the player is not ready having recently recovered from an injury, but a player who has been available for almost a month hasn’t just recently recovered. He is good to go.
Trent Alexander-Arnold turned his back on his boyhood club just to fulfil his childhood dream in the summer, but his sacrifice has so far not been appreciated, and he is almost certain not to make Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad if things remain this way.
Even if it improves, Alexander-Arnold will need a miracle to convince the German, as he has been out of the team for a while, and a return, if there’ll be one, can only happen in March, when it’ll be just three months to the global showpiece.
The signs aren’t great for a player who has only featured once in the qualifiers, but if helped by his manager, then four months is enough to turn things around, in addition, it would be for the best of Madrid.
kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
