Trent Alexander-Arnold's Anfield return: Real Madrid right back facing Liverpool only highlights what Reds are missing

Trent Alexander-Arnold returns to Anfield with Real Madrid on Tuesday for the first time since leaving Liverpool last summer, with the Reds and their fans missing the right back more than they perhaps would like to admit.

It is almost six months to the day Alexander-Arnold confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in football by announcing that unlike Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, he would not be signing a new deal at the club in order to, as he told Prime Video Sport ahead of the game, pursue a "new challenge" in the Spanish capital.

That this was a local boy and the vice-captain of the team with a 20-plus year association with the Reds meant feelings were raw on Merseyside, with the defender even booed by a section of his own fans after coming on as a substitute against Arsenal at Anfield in the first game after the announcement.

Some even scoffed at Alexander-Arnold's claim that part of his reason for joining Los Blancos was to help him win the Ballon d'Or, with no doubt some Liverpool supporters keeping a close eye on how he would fare, even secretly hoping he would fail at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Initially, the 27-year-old impressed both on and off the pitch, addressing the Madrid faithful and president Florentino Perez in Spanish at his unveiling in June, before one of his trademark crosses from the right created Gonzalo Garcia's winner against Juventus in the Club World Cup round of 16 the next month.

However, things have not gone as smoothy since, with Alexander-Arnold restricted to just 156 minutes of action in total so far this season - with no goals or assists - as new Real head coach Xabi Alonso initially alternated between the England international and Dani Carvajal at right-back after the captain's return from a long layoff with an ACL.

A hamstring injury after just five minutes of Real's opening Champions League clash with Marseille in September did not help either and when Alexander-Arnold was then omitted from Thomas Tuchel's England squad for that month's World Cup Qualifiers with Andorra and Serbia, there may have been some glee from certain sections of Reds fanbase with the then unbeaten champions seemingly thriving without him.

But a lot has changed since then, with Liverpool's title defence wobbling after four straight league defeats knocked Arne Slot's side off top spot in the Premier League, while they sit just 10th in the Champions League standings ahead of the visit of a Real side who have lost just once in all competitions so far under Alonso.

Madrid's arrival on Merseyside for a rematch with Liverpool, who convincingly beat Carlo Ancelotti's team 2-0 at Anfield last November, now has added spice with Alexander-Arnold back from injury and competing with midfielder Federico Valverde to start against his boyhood club after Carvajal underwent an arthroscopy on his right knee that is likely to sideline the Spain international for the rest of the year.

"Mixed emotions, whatever way I'm received is the decision of the fans," he said about his return home.

"No matter what, my feelings won't change towards Liverpool. I've got memories there that will last me a lifetime and, no matter how I'm received, that won't change."

It threatens to be an uncomfortable night all round for the Reds faithful, though, as not only could their returning right back help inflict another defeat on his former side, but his very presence at Anfield may also serve to remind them just what they have been missing at times this season.

For a start, defensively Liverpool have been leaking goals at an alarming rate, with Slot going through right backs as if they are out of fashion as the Dutchman tries to settle on who Alexander-Arnold's successor should be.

Conor Bradley had been earmarked for the role, but has struggled when fit, with Sky Sports' Gary Neville questioning his place in the side after the 3-2 loss at Brentford: "I'm supportive of Bradley, but it's difficult when your team is conceding goals and the pressure is on.

"If he [Slot] keeps playing Bradley at right back and they are exposed in midfield, they will keep on getting the same results."

When in possession at Liverpool Alexander-Arnold would be utilised as an inverted midfielder by Jurgen Klopp, who wanted to make greater use of the player's unique passing range.

"We've never seen passing and crossing from a right back of that type ever and I think I can include all the great right backs globally, not just those who played in the Premier League," Neville said of Alexander-Arnold after he had created Luis Diaz's opener at Tottenham Hotspur last December. "It is absolutely sensational, it really is."

This included effortlessly switching play with a raking, pinpoint cross-field pass, often to fellow full-back Andy Robertson on the opposite flank, perhaps best illustrated by Liverpool's second goal against Man City at Anfield in November 2019.

Neither Bradley nor summer signing Jeremie Frimpong have such skills, which may explain why Slot has often chosen to play versatile midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai as a makeshift right back instead, with Liverpool finding it hard in Alexander-Arnold's absence to progress the ball up the field during their recent struggles.

All of which has had a knock-on effect on other areas of the team, especially in attack where Salah's form has alarmingly dipped this season in the absence of his old mate on the right wing, with his recent consolation strike at Brentford the forward's first open-play goal in the top flight since the first day of the campaign.

"Slot has not paid attention to just how much they will miss Alexander-Arnold," Sky Sports' Paul Merson told Soccer Saturday.

"They underestimated Trent leaving, you are talking one of the best passers in the Premier League and when he plays at right back, now all of a sudden they are doubling up on Salah, who does not look like kicking the ball."

Sky Sports' Nick Wright expanded more in his 'Radar' column, writing: "The strength of their connection on Liverpool's right was arguably the side's biggest asset, not just because of the volume of passes received by Salah from Alexander-Arnold, but the type.

"The right back gave Salah exactly what he needed. It can be seen in Opta's data for line-breaking passes. Alexander-Arnold made 147 of them to Salah last season, a whopping 36 per cent more than any other Premier League pairing, with Josko Gvardiol to Jeremy Doku next on 108.

"Alexander-Arnold's defensive frailties tended to draw more focus but he was, and still is, a unicorn of a right back in his ability to break structures and bypass defenders with his distribution, ensuring Salah regularly received the ball in positions to hurt opponents."

And even Slot admitted Sala's recent slump may have something to do with Alexander-Arnold's absence.

"He played with Trent his whole Liverpool career, so it could [be that]," Slot said when asked about Salah's drop in form. "He's been in promising positions often enough to score goals, but maybe with Trent even more."

However, it is not just the goals [23 in total in 354 games], or the assists [92 in all competitions, including a record-breaking 67 by a defender in the Premier League era] that Slot and Co are so badly missing this season, but also the local boy's influence in the dressing room, especially in the aftermath of Diogo Jota's tragic death.

All of which makes the indifferent reaction to Alexander-Arnold's decision not to stay at Anfield all the more baffling, with the prevailing view of many Liverpool fans at the time being had they to lose one of their contract rebels, let it be the right back rather than Salah or captain Virgil van Dijk.

One wonders, though, if Michael Edwards [Fenway Sports Group CEO of Football] and sporting director Ricard Hughes had their time again, would they actually prioritise trying to keep hold of Trent.