Arne Slot’s Parting Words on Alexander-Arnold Shock Keane and Wright
Roy Keane and Ian Wright were left stunned when Arne Slot’s farewell comments about Trent Alexander-Arnold resurfaced amid the defender’s difficult start at Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold’s free transfer to the Santiago Bernabéu was one of football’s worst-kept secrets last season, with the right-back leaving Liverpool at the end of his contract.
Before his final match for the Reds, Slot had offered incoming Madrid boss Xabi Alonso what he jokingly called “a gift” — his own observations from working with Alexander-Arnold.
“I wasn’t entirely satisfied with everything I saw in training,” Slot admitted. “At certain moments, he could have done more, to put it mildly. I told him, ‘You’re a far better defender than people say, but you don’t always show it.’”
On The Overlap, Jamie Carragher reminded the panel of those remarks while discussing Alexander-Arnold’s current struggles — including being left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
“Slot said something after Trent left which was probably a bit of a dig,” Carragher explained. “It was along the lines of, ‘If I can give Xabi Alonso some advice, he’ll need to push Trent harder in training.’”
Both Keane and Wright appeared surprised, with Keane calling it “a sneaky dig in the ribs” and Wright reacting: “Wow, parting shot.” The Irishman went on to question when Alexander-Arnold might take those words to heart.
Carragher defended the defender’s legacy but stressed the need for more consistency: “You think of the impact Trent’s had at Liverpool. Some of the names mentioned, like Livramento or Djed Spence, probably won’t reach that level. That’s not a criticism — they’re good players. But with Trent it’s a case of, ‘I love you, you’re amazing, but… come on!’”
