Anfield was supposed to provide a painful experience for Arsenal and for 66 minutes Liverpool obliged. Then Trent Alexander-Arnold entered the fray and everything changed, not least his standing among his fellow Liverpool supporters. The punishment was transferred to one of their own.
The boos started as soon as Alexander-Arnold waited on the sideline to replace Conor Bradley, reached a crescendo when he stepped onto the pitch and continued every time he touched the ball. His applause for the Kop after the final whistle brought another round of condemnation for the Real Madrid-bound defender, Dominik Szoboszlai making his displeasure at the reaction clear with a gesture towards the fans. The Alexander-Arnold show was too much of a distraction, his introduction a mistake, and Arsenal, two goals down at the interval, completed their comeback through Mikel Merino’s header. Gabriel Martinelli had earlier given Mikel Arteta’s team hope after Cody Gakpo and Luis DÃaz had established a seemingly comfortable lead for Liverpool.
​
