A lesson a fan of any other club than Real Madrid learns eventually is that when Madrid bats their eyes at something, they get it, even if it's a homegrown legend like Trent Alexander-Arnold. It doesn't matter what you do. That applies to more than players, too, as whenever Madrid cast their gaze at the Champions League trophy, they seem to get that, too. Even with performances that suggest they should have been in the Conference League. It doesn't matter, they are Helen of Troy in the soccer world.
Alexander-Arnold's move to Madrid seems all but sealed at this point. It's more than understandable. There's not much left to prove at Liverpool for him, about to collect his second league winner's medal, to go with his Champions League winner's medal (and two other finals, though he was kind of responsible for losing one of them), a FA Cup one, a couple League Cup ones. There's nothing left to win with Liverpool that he hasn't already.
It's also Alexander-Arnold's one chance to move to the giant of the game. Sign a new deal at Liverpool, and Madrid don't call when he's 30 or 31. Become a legend at Real Madrid, everyone on the planet knows your name. The reported $15M-$20 million salary doesn't hurt, either. Would you turn down $15 million to live in Madrid? it's an entire culture built on the afternoon nap, for god's sake!
Looking to the future, what do Madrid have in mind for Alexander-Arnold? The simple answer is to plug him in at right back, and then let him just hit 65-yard diagonal balls to Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe and giggle as he collects 15-20 assists per season. Perhaps it's that simple, but perhaps it isn't.
How will Real Madrid use Trent Alexander-Arnold?
Madrid, this season, have been missing the metronomic quality of Toni Kroos after his retirement after last season. Some of that is due to their injury woes in defense, which have seen Federico Valverde have to play at right back a lot, and Aurélien Tchouaméni moonlight in central defense far more than they'd like. Those are supposed to be two midfield linchpins displaced. Madrid would certainly hope they both return to central midfield full-time next season, if they're both still around.
Still, neither provide the assurance with the ball that Kroos did, though Valverde comes close. Tchouaméni was often the security guard for Kroos in '23-'24, breaking up opposing attacks and recycling the ball to Kroos. Madrid haven't used the inverted full-back model that other teams have. But they also have never had an Alexander-Arnold at full-back either that would tempt them to do so. Is that what's on the menu?
Comparing Kroos and Alexander-Arnold is a little silly, admittedly, given the difference in positions. Kroos attempted far more short passes per game (40.3 to 31.9 for TAA), which given that he was in midfield with teammates usually closer to him makes sense. His completion percentage is obviously higher (91 percent to 73 percent), given that Alexander-Arnold is trying longer and more dangerous passes more often from right-back. But it's that sense of whimsy that might keep Alexander-Arnold out of midfield. WIth a player like Kroos, sometimes you have to listen to the notes he's not playing, as it were. The simple pass chosen because the hard one just isn't on and keeping the ball is the smarter choice. Waiting for the moment. It's not something Alexander-Arnold has done a lot of from a midfield spot.
As far as dangerous passing, Alexander-Arnold pulls even if not ahead. TAA has averaged 0.29 xAG in the Premier League, while Kroos only averaged 0.20. Kroos wasn't shipping in crosses from wide, nor getting as forward as Alexander-Arnold has, and both are freekick takers of the highest quality. TAA has averaged 2. 27 key-passes per 90 minutes, Kroos 2.44. Alexander-Arnold doubles up Kroos in passes into the penalty area per 90, given his proclivity of crossing from wide.
Liverpool, in the previous couple seasons, used Alexander-Arnold as an inverted fullback at times, pushing him into the center of midfield with the ball. It had varying success, though kind of neutered Mo Salah at times as he had no one to combine with on the right side of the attack. But doing it full-time is another matter. Alexander-Arnold as a fullback almost never receives the ball facing his own goal. He rarely has to dribble past anyone, and out wide he can always get lost to find the space and time to spray those Hollywood passes that have become his trademark. That's a lot harder to do in midfield where it's far more crowded. Arne Slot hasn't used this tactic much this season, keeping TAA in his fullback role. Perhaps Alexander-Arnold sees that as limiting.
The counter to that is that at Madrid, Alexander-Arnold will be playing in a team that will dominate the ball in pretty much every match, in a league where there is less pressing and he can have the time to get his head up in midfield. That's not entirely true. Madrid do regularly have the ball for 60 percent of matches or more. But Liverpool are at 57 percent this season. As far as pressing and how aggressive the opposition is against them, Madrid's OPPDA (the amount of passes they complete before an opponent attempts a defensive action) is 16.0. Liverpool's is 15.5. The Reds get a lot of time on the ball, too. The average PPDA of the leagues as a whole are almost exactly the same (11.3 in the Premier League, 11.4 in La Liga).
It's easy to see Alexander-Arnold in those Madrid matches in the Champions League that make no sense and turn into kindergarten recess football springing them on the counter and watching Vinicius and Rodrygo and Mbappe finishing off moves he started to put Madrid up 2-0 when they've given up 85 shots against or whatever. It's their thing, and those are the kinds of moments that turn a player from star to worldwide Nike ad (or Adidas in Alexander-Arnold's case). Perhaps that's what Alexander-Arnold is after.
But if he has designs on different usage in the Spanish capital, that's iffier. It would involve a change of tactics and some change in personnel, as Valverde and Tchouaméni are just far more experienced and comfortable in the spots Alexander-Arnold would invert into. While it might not be as slow as popularly thought, La Liga's slower pace might cut off his forays forward out wide to deal out those menacing crosses that are his hallmark. Then again, Madrid will always have so many weapons that no opposition can cover them all.
Perhaps it's best to take Alexander-Arnold at his word, that he wants to be the first fullback to win a Ballon D'or, and he wants to do that by doing things from the fullback spot that none other have done. Perhaps Madrid will shape their team around his prowess on the right side of the field and leave him out of midfield. Rodrygo certainly likes to cut inside and vacate the right side of the attack, much like Salah does at Liverpool. Perhaps TAA just wants to do what he has always done, just on a bigger stage. Probably for the best, as there's only one Toni Kroos, after all.