Every word Arne Slot said on Trent Alexander-Arnold, Isak injury and Liverpool vs Real Madrid

Arne Slot had plenty to discuss as Liverpool prepares to face Real Madrid in the Champions League, with one player’s return in particular catching plenty of attention.

Having finally returned to winning ways in the Premier League against Aston Villa after four straight defeats, the Reds are back in European action tomorrow at Anfield, and it doesn’t come any bigger than the visit of the 15-time champions.

There is some added spice to tomorrow’s game though, with Trent Alexander-Arnold making his return to Merseyside for the first time since his summer departure, with plenty of discussion about the what sort of reception he’ll receive.

Ahead of the game, Slot sat down to speak to the media at his pre-match press conference - here’s a round-up of what the Liverpool boss had to say…

Injury updates on Isak, Frimpong and Alisson

"All three are unavailable for tomorrow. Jeremie and Alisson will also not be available for Sunday, and with Alex, we have to wait and see.

"Definitely not starting on Sunday, but maybe he can be involved in the squad, but he's still not training with the team, so we have to wait and see."

Will he have one eye on Man City game?

"No, the Sunday game is not in my thinking when it comes to the line-up for tomorrow, because I think there are four days in between. We've had a lot of moments this season where there were only two days in between, like tomorrow, but that is maybe for the first time this season [where] for the opponent we face it's the same.

"So, [there were] many other times when we had two days' rest we faced a team that had a week of rest or three days' rest or four days' rest. So for tomorrow that's exactly the same for both teams.

"The line-up for tomorrow will have nothing to do with what happens on Sunday. The good thing is that we won on Saturday – but that was about time, I would say, for us to start winning a game of football again!"

On Trent Alexander-Arnold's return

"I can only tell you what kind of a reception he will get from me. I have great memories of the player and the human being.

"He was our vice-captain, he was my vice-captain last season. I have memories working with him that were only positive and I have memories from when I was watching him in front of the television which are only positive as well.

"I can remember multiple great moments of him wearing the Liverpool shirt. So, he will get a warm welcome by me. Let's first wait and see if he's on the pitch tomorrow and how our fans will react. I have no clue how that's going to be. But he gets a warm welcome from me, that's for sure."

His message to the fans

"I can say to them, 'Show up tomorrow and help us again like you did [on] Saturday.' They were a big help for the team.

"Again, tomorrow we face a team that is on a great run of form, like [Aston] Villa was as well. It's always very pleasant to play at home because in the run of form we had we almost only played away games.

"I think Anfield showed [on] Saturday how important they can be for the team, so let's hope the players and the team and the fans can do the same tomorrow evening."

What changes he has noticed in Real Madrid

"For me, it is hard to compare this game with last season. I just said it already because last season when they played here they had many injuries and now they haven't – and they kept a lot of the team the same.

"I see a lot of similarities between last season [and this]. Xabi [Alonso] is doing an incredible job at Madrid but Carlo Ancelotti did the same; he won a lot.

"They've added a few new players, so that can always influence playing style maybe a little, but I saw last season a very good Real Madrid – and I see that now as well. They have always been a big force in this competition; I don't know how many semi-finals or more they've played in the last few years. A very good team, but we are a very good team as well."

On Xabi Alonso and the changes he has made

"The first question you shouldn't ask me, you should ask him because I don't know what he did. Like I said, they were for multiple years with Carlo Ancelotti very successful. How many Champions Leagues did Carlo win over there at Madrid? Three? That's not too bad!

"We can only talk with a lot of respect about his career over there. Now Xabi does very well – they only lost one game and won the rest.

"The second question was what kind of impact he had over here: he won the Champions League over here. I can only tell you because his playing time was quite a long time ago, but I did watch football back then, that he was very influential in the way he played.

"But people are also very positive about the human being he was over here. So, I think everybody talks with a lot of respect about the player he was but also about the human being he was here in Liverpool."

On Florian Wirtz

“You can say he started one out of the last four, you can also say he already started eight, nine, 10 or 11 games this season.

“I’ve said this quite a lot, not being used as an excuse, but just telling it how it is. Many times we’ve had to play three games in seven days, only two days rest in between.

“For a player that comes from a different league, which is a very good league by the way, but I think nine out of ten people would agree that the Premier League is a bit more intense, especially in all the games.

“Then, if you look at that, then he already played a lot, and he’s had his impact in many games, but has been unlucky with the end product, either by himself or his teammates.

“For me, he exactly brought what we expected - a player that can create a lot for the team, will have his goals as well, but I don’t think it comes a surprise to anyone if you are 22, 23, and you come from a different league, that you might need some timeto adjust to that intensity if you play every three days, with only two days rest in between.

“Before I was sitting here, Ryan Gravenberch was sitting here, and it took him a while to adjust to the intensity, maybe even longer than it’s going to take Florian.”