4 hours ago
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Trent Alexander-Arnold has been out of sight and out of mind in Liverpool for much of the time since making his move to Real Madrid. Injury has sidelined him (after he had been dropped anyway), and Arne Slot's high-flying Reds have until recently had little cause to think about their old number 66.
But a downturn in form has led to the inevitable questions. Are Liverpool's problems in build-up a result of missing Alexander-Arnold's incisive qualities?
While Alexander-Arnold was certainly uniquely valuable in terms of his creativity from right-back, it is nonetheless a simplistic answer to Slot's struggles, one which gropes for the nearest explanation. For instance, Liverpool is arguably suffering just as much from a lack of cohesion between forwards, with Mohamed Salah previously praising his former connections with both Roberto Firmino and Darwin Nunez.
The truth is that there are a whole host of small things going wrong. There is no one headline problem that needs to be resolved, but a series of slight imperfections can make the difference in a game and a league of fine margins.
Salah's less active role in the press is under more scrutiny while his attacking output is low. Ibrahima Konate is looking shaky defensively, and unconvincing when trying to start moves from the back.
Alexis Mac Allister still looks short of full match fitness, while the same is obviously true of Alexander Isak. And all this is happening in the context of a group still coming to terms with the tragic death of Diogo Jota.
So it does not all come back to Alexander-Arnold by any stretch of the imagination. Even so, it was brave of Liverpool to post the former vice-captain a birthday message on social media, at a time when his name is back on the lips of supporters for the first time in weeks.
"Happy birthday, Trent Alexander-Arnold," wrote the club's official X account. This was accompanied by a party popper emoji, and a photo of the full-back lifting the Premier League trophy.
While not exactly a gushing tribute, some supporters still took issue. In particular, the timing was under scrutiny (although it's not as if the club can control when his birthday is).
"Lads we've just lost three on the bounce, could you not?", read one reply. "Make that four losses in a row," quipped another.
Others were more reflective. "Can't be mad at the lad forever and he gave his all to us when he was here," one fan mused, before adding his own birthday wishes for Alexander-Arnold.
Just as when he left, there is no one correct way to respond. The two crucial factors still remain true: Alexander-Arnold was a big part of some wonderful moments for Liverpool, and he chose to walk away from his boyhood club.
Everyone will reconcile those things in different ways. But a birthday message from the club is obviously pretty harmless.
Even so, the Liverpool admin was probably well advised to quickly follow up with another birthday tribute, this time to Sami Hyypia. If Alexander-Arnold happens to view the messages under that post, he will see the universal acclaim that comes with the legend status he turned his back on.
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