'Clueless' Trent Alexander-Arnold torn to shreds by Spanish media for 'non-existent' performances in stuttering start to life at Real Madrid

Alexander-Arnold decided to call time on his Liverpool career after winning a second Premier League title with the Reds last season, signing for Los Blancos in time for the summer's Club World Cup. However, it has been far from an ideal start to life at Santiago Bernabeu, with the 27-year-old struggling to convince fellow Merseyside icon Xabi Alonso that he warrants a regular place in his starting XI. He has made three consecutive starts in recent weeks thanks to Carvajal's injury, but so far he has been unable to conjure up the creative spark that made him such an asset to Jurgen Klopp and later Arne Slot, failing to register a single assist since the start of the current campaign. Instead, it's been Madrid's attacking and midfield players who have been setting up the majority of the team's goals, with Arda Guler leading the assist rankings in their La Liga outings with five, while Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde have contributed four apiece. Whether it will all come together for Alexander-Arnold in Spain remains to be seen, but the notoriously short-tempered local press have not wasted any time declaring how lost the right-back has looked during his first six months as a Madrid player.

While plenty of Madrid's players have struggled during the early parts of the 2025-26 season, Alexander-Arnold in particular came in for criticism after his performance in the 1-1 draw with Girona at the weekend. Writing for MARCA, Spanish journalist Alfredo Relano claimed: "Now that Trent is here, he seems like a clueless and insubstantial player, with the expression of a rabbit in the headlights. His quality at set-pieces is masked by his right foot, but in open play he is non-existent." The same publication had published a slightly more sympathetic report a few days earlier, admitting Alexander-Arnold had produced a "mixed bag" of performances since joining the likes of Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe at the club.

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Madrid's draw with Girona was disappointing for a number of reasons. It was their third consecutive stalemate in La Liga, which allowed Barcelona to open up a four-point lead at the top of the table after Hansi Flick's side beat Atletico Madrid on Tuesday evening, and they had to rely on an Mbappe penalty to drag them level after Azzedine Ounahi had bagged the opener shortly before half-time. Alexander-Arnold himself committed the cardinal sin of failing to track his opposite number before the goal and couldn't provide much ingenuity at the other end of the pitch. He did create two chances but only completed one of his 10 attempted crosses, also committing two fouls in defence.

While criticism has headed his way, Alexander-Arnold did enough last time out to be included in Alonso's starting line-up for Wednesday night's trip to Athletic Club. A win is crucial for Los Blancos, with manager Alonso starting to feel the heat after some unconvincing recent performances, while an improved showing from Alexander-Arnold could ease some the pressure starting to build on the Englishman's shoulder, and perhaps even provoke a more positive reception from the Spanish media. Regardless, the boyhood Scouser will be keen to show everyone he's not the 'clueless' player he has been labelled and perhaps start to work his way back into contention for England duty, with next year's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico fast approaching.