Roll out the red carpet
More from Liverpool boss Arne Slot on comparisons between Trent Alexander-Arnold and his fellow right-back Conor Bradley.
He said: “Let’s not compare with Trent already, they are different types in my opinion, we all see Conor’s potential.
“Last week I walked on pitch with him and for me, it was a surprise to hear from him, he had a comment about the stadium, and it was the first he was there as well. For me, he is already there ahead of development than being at Chelsea for the first time.
“Unfortunately, he hasn’t been fit all season, but to become a good player you have to be fit all season, but we have a lot of confidence in him as a very good full-back for Liverpool.”
On rotation, Slot added: “Conor will start [against Arsenal], he needs playing time, games under his belt to be prepared for next season.”
On Liverpool fans’ reaction to Alexander-Arnold’s announcement, Slot continued:
People have an opinion, Trent, me or anyone, nothing new. Maybe a bit more negative than he is used to. I am not here to tell the fans how to react. The boys had a few days off, so I will wait and see how he feels. I have spoken to him on Whatsapp, but let’s wait and see. I am not here to tell the fans how to react. Trent said that us, as a team and club, not to be too distracted by this announcement, so I hope all the energy goes to the players, the fans and as little as possible to Trent, unless it is positive.
“Light at right-back? Is that true? We have Conor and Curtis Jones, so four players [alongside Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah].
“I agree one of them is the ideal position, and Gomez can play there well, but favourite is centre-back, Jarell, it’s the same.
“I think it is a surprise to you if I say we are looking at this or that, we don’t talk about the positions we want to improve the team. We have just won the league, we were so competitive v PSG, it is not easy to find better players to improve us, they need to be available and we need to be able to afford them.”