It was a curious Premier League encounter as Liverpool hosted Arsenal at Anfield. It should have been a game of celebration for the Reds, as they received a guard of honour from the Gunners, having sealed the title two games prior
However, the mood was spoiled. Arne Slot’s men raced to a two-goal lead – through Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz – only to be pegged back in the second half, with Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Merino netting for Mikel Arteta’s team. The final scoreline of 2-2 was not the biggest issue for the home crowd, though.
Indeed, many fans seemed most annoyed by the appearance of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool right-back has confirmed he will be leaving for Real Madrid in the summer, and it hasn’t gone down well with many.
Dominik Szoboszlai Baffled By Trent Alexander-Arnold Boos
Appeared to tell the Kop to ‘lay off’ his Liverpool teammate
Conor Bradley started the game but left the pitch in the 67th minute, making way for his Madrid-bound teammate. Alexander-Arnold was booed as he came on, and even more boos seem to come every time he touched the ball.
Although a certain level of disappointment and even anger was always expected, it caught many by surprise that it manifested on match day in such a toxic way. Dominik Szoboszlai appeared to be among those who seemed to feel the Anfield crowd were being a little too harsh in their treatment of the departing Liverpool star.
Even after full time, as reported by the Daily Mail’s Lewis Steele, small sections of supporters in the Kop were booing Alexander-Arnold after he clapped the home supporters. He also noted that Reds midfielder Szoboszlai appeared to be gesturing towards the Kop to ‘lay off’ the England international.
Footage of the Hungarian has since emerged backing up these reports, as he could be seen looking pretty perplexed by the behaviour.
Manager Slot remained sensibly diplomatic on the matter when speaking to the press after the game. The Dutchman said: “I think the good thing about living in Europe is that everyone can have their opinion and that’s the same here in Liverpool. There were people that were not so happy with him, there were lots of people who were happy with him.”
Fellow fullback Andy Robertson said he was saddened by the reaction but understood it, opting to speak more about his personal relationship with Alexander-Arnold. He explained:
“He’s made the decision. It’s not nice to see a friend get booed but like I said, you can’t tell people how to act but I can tell you how I feel about it and I’m extremely proud of what he’s done for this club. I love him as a friend, I love him as a player and he’ll be missed.”
Jamie Carragher was a little more blunt with his comments. He went as far as to condemn the behaviour, saying: “I don’t believe that any player putting that red shirt on and going out to play for the club should be booed. I understand there’s a lot of ill feeling. But I think booing one of your own players when they’re playing is not for me.”