Trent Alexander-Arnold's nightmare week after Real Madrid and England axe

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been benched by Real Madrid and dropped from the England squad by Thomas Tuchel, with a feisty return to Liverpool on the cards at an awkward time

Trent Alexander-Arnold probably didn’t envisage a week like this when he decided to swap Liverpool for Real Madrid at the end of last season.

Alexander-Arnold painted his decision to move to Spain as one motivated by ambition. He felt the time was right, at the age of 26, to spread his wings, expand his horizons and win some more trophies.

It is early days, but the events of the past week show how difficult such a transition can be. He has been dropped by Real Madrid, in favour of veteran Dani Carvajal, drawn away against Liverpool in the Champions League and now left out of the England squad by Thomas Tuchel.

Even when he was still at Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold was a divisive footballer, with his unique talents making him stand out as a right-back. He has never held down a regular place in the national side, having won just 34 caps in seven years.

But his gamble in swapping his boyhood club for Real has only heightened his perception from the outside. It remains to be seen what sort of a reception he will be given upon his return to Anfield, but it will be mixed at best.

His focus right now will be trying to convince Xabi Alonso that he can hold down the starting right-back position at Real. Carvajal has recovered from an ACL injury and reclaimed his place in the side for Real’s second La Liga game of the season – and his legendary status with the club won’t make it easy to oust him.

The 33-year-old has made 430 appearances for Real and has helped them win a gluttony of trophies. He is a solid touch-tackling kind of right-back, as opposed to Alexander-Arnold’s marauding and pass-spraying approach.

Alonso has already warned Alexander-Arnold that he will have to be patient, because rotation is the aim of the game. “It depends on what we need in terms of the game, the workload and the opposition,” he said after bringing back Carvajal for the 3-0 win over Real Oviedo.

“I haven't made a decision for the next month. I'm going to see how we recover and to make sure that people feel important and ready to start, come off the bench or be able to be in the next game.”

Like any professional, Alexander-Arnold is no stranger to competition for places, but he never really had a viable rival at Liverpool, with Conor Bradley a clear understudy during his final years. He was the homegrown top dog under Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot and commanded a place for the biggest games. Carvajal is a whole different story.

“I have many positions double-covered,” Alonso said earlier in the summer. “This is one of those, with two exceptional players. Carva, who's been training hard and is much closer to his original level by now, and Trent, from Liverpool. That's amazing for improving the level of the squad. We're going to be playing tons of games and we need to have that top level.”

Tuchel isn’t moving away from Alexander-Arnold permanently. He wants to give him time to settle in Spain, but the exclusion of him and Kyle Walker, in favour of Djed Spence and Tino Livramento does show a shift in the standings.

Alexander-Arnold now has no choice but to get his head down, work hard and re-establish his reputation in both club and international football.