Trent Alexander-Arnold's substitution sulk hints at Arne Slot's biggest Liverpool problem

The petulance we saw from Alexander-Arnold on Sunday is hardly a rare event in football. Players always want to play every minute of every game, and some managers state - at least publicly - that they actually like it when their charges express dissatisfaction at being benched or taken off, as it's interpreted as evidence of the hunger and desire required to thrive at the highest level.

There was certainly nothing to suggest that Slot was put out by Alexander-Arnold's reaction (he was in fine form in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, even getting an amusing dig in at pundit Jamie Carragher) - or that back-to-back substitutions were any kind of negative reflection on the defender's displays at either Portman Road or Anfield.

"Trent had a few weeks off, came back and it is only his third game and we have to take care of him," Slot told reporters. "We need him for the whole season and not only for the first two games.

"The good thing for me is that I have a very good back-up as well with Conor, so that means we are taking care of Trent. But he played a good game."

Alexander-Arnold has certainly not shown any ill-effects of being cruelly scapegoated during England's Euro 2024 campaign, with the 25-year-old making a hugely impressive start to the season that has seen him create seven chances in two games - no other Liverpool player has managed more.

It's already abundantly clear that he will be just as integral to Slot's Liverpool as he was to Klopp's. The only difference is we're likely to see a little less of him in the middle of the park, particularly as Slot favours a double pivot in front of the back four, which means less space in the engine room for Alexander-Arnold but more opportunities for him to get forward because of the extra cover provided by the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister.

"Trent has many qualities, and one of them is the crosses from the side," Slot told Sky on Sunday. "If we only play him in the midfield, he can only pass the ball, which he can of course do quite well. But I also want him in dangerous crossing positions. So, he has the freedom to go anywhere, [which is why] Trent is a difficult one to play against."

However, he could also prove a little difficult to manage the longer his contract saga drags on.

There can be no questioning of Alexander-Arnold's love of Liverpool, but he might well be a little frustrated with the club right now. He made light of the media's desperation to speak with him after last week's win at Ipswich but, as feared, the speculation around his future is only intensifying, and will continue to do so until the Real Madrid target signs a renewal.

Sunday showed precisely why. Under normal circumstances, Alexander-Arnold's sulking would have been quickly forgotten, but this is an extraordinary situation: the season is now well under way, the transfer window closes in less than 72 hours, and yet Liverpool's vice-captain is no closer to extending a contract that expires next summer.

As a result, every comment and gesture is being analysed in great detail, with journalists and fans desperately trying to detect whether Alexander-Arnold is more likely to stay or go. This kind of incessant scrutiny and speculation is no good for anyone, particularly Slot, who is also having to bat away questions about Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, who, as it stands, will also be free agents next summer.

Both Van Dijk and Salah seem utterly unperturbed by the fact that they've yet to agree new contracts with the club - at least on the field - and Alexander-Arnold's performance level hasn't dropped either. Furthermore, the latter's poor reaction to being subbed is only really a story because his future remains in doubt - but that doesn't diminish the risk of the constant questions about Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk and Salah becoming an annoying and potentially damaging distraction for Slot, who really could have done without this level of uncertainty surrounding three of Liverpool's leading lights in his first few months at the club.

Encouragingly, the squad appears to have fully bought into his more measured footballing philosophy, but he obviously doesn't have as much credit in the bank with the players as his predecessor. It would be only natural if some don't feel as favoured by Slot as they did by Klopp.

After all, it already appears as if the new boss has a preferred starting line-up - the only change made on Sunday to the side that won at Ipswich was Ibrahima Konate replacing Jarell Quansah alongside Van Dijk - and although Slot has been at pains to point out that the season is long, meaning every squad member will have a role to play, it will not be long before certain big names come knocking on his door if they're restricted to the role of impact sub.

Nunez, for example, looked annoyed enough as it was at the tail end of last season, with the unpredictable Uruguayan rather childishly deleting all of his Liverpool pictures from his Instagram profile. So, we can expect him to kick off if it becomes clear that Jota is Slot's starting No.9.

Gakpo is clearly less combustible than Nunez but he, too, won't be happy if he's forced to spend most of the season sitting on the bench, which looks quite likely with Diaz in fine form.

Joe Gomez, of course, has long been accustomed to serving as Liverpool's utility man, but he's now third-choice at both left-back and right-back, and fourth-choice in the centre of defence - hardly an ideal scenario for a 27-year-old defender with designs on becoming a regular in the England squad.

Harvey Elliott has similar aspirations, and although time is very much on the 21-year-old's side, he'll unquestionably be feeling a little hard done by that he's seen just seven minutes of game time so far, given he was outstanding in pre-season.

By complete contrast, Wataru Endo struggled during the summer and has slipped down the midfield pecking order as a result, meaning he may be ruing the fact that Liverpool rejected a bid from Marseille for his services.

Of course, if last season proved anything, it was that a deep pool of top-quality players is utterly essential to sustaining a title challenge. Liverpool may have won the Carabao Cup with kids, but competing on four fronts eventually took a heavy toll of several senior stars, including Salah, Alexander-Arnold, Jota and Andy Robertson.

The biggest challenge of the early stages of Slot's tenure will be finding a way to retain the trust and support of the players he's not picking every week, while at the same time ensuring that his stars are satisfied. It will not be an easy balance to strike, as underlined by Alexander-Arnold's unhappiness at being replaced after 72 minutes of a game that Liverpool had effectively already won.

As Slot pointed out while addressing his sulky star, "I understand that every player wants to play 90 minutes - but I don’t think the players that were on the bench from the start were really happy with the choices I made either."

Of course, all new coaches must prove themselves masters of dressing-room diplomacy, but not many find themselves going into a season with no signings of their own and question marks hanging over three key cogs in his team. So, while Slot certainly didn't cause this problem, he's the one that's going to have to deal with it. How he fares will determine the success of his first season at Anfield.