Eamon Dunphy column: Horror show by Trent means he has to be axed by Arne Slot
To me, Alexander-Arnold just doesn't have the Liverpool stuff. Think of the Liverpool dressing-rooms of the past. The likes of Tommy Smith, Graeme Souness and Steve McMahon would have had him up against a wall over his nonsense.
On October 22, 2017, Liverpool fans realised they had a manager of real steel in Jurgen Klopp.
The Reds went to London to play Tottenham, and were hammered 4-1. Dejan Lovren was hooked by Klopp after just 30 disastrous minutes.
Klopp didn't worry about hurting his player's feelings after the final whistle, saying he'd have done a better job than Lovren to close out Harry Kane for the first goal.
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Less than three months later, Liverpool moved to bring Virgil van Dijk from Southampton.
Lovren's horrible 30 minutes was close to the worst performance of a Liverpool player under Klopp - Loris Karius takes that dubious honour for his woeful Champions League final against Real Madrid.
Where Klopp once stood at Anfield now stands Arne Slot. What Trent Alexander-Arnold produced yesterday against Manchester United was as bad as Lovren back in 2017.
And Slot has to be as decisive as Klopp was back then. No team with aspirations of winning the biggest prizes can indulge someone like Alexander-Arnold.
He really should not have come out for the second half. Slot would have been fully justified in taking him off after 30 minutes.
Conor Bradley hasn't played in a while, so maybe that kept Alexander-Arnold on the pitch until late on.
But he should be embarrassed at himself that he played like that in such a big game.
With Arsenal and Chelsea both dropping points on Saturday, this was a great opportunity for Liverpool to stretch their lead at the top.
That they didn't is down to two factors - United's resilience and Alexander-Arnold's laziness.
Gareth Southgate is no genius but he deserves credit for seeing through the Alexander-Arnold myth.
All this guff about him being a generational talent. Spare me. Remember the goal celebration when he crossed for Luis Diaz to score against Spurs? Diaz went down on one knee in front of him and pretended to shine his right boot.
Look at a video clip of that goal. There wasn't a Spurs player anywhere near Alexander-Arnold. He had all the time and space in the world to pick out the cross.
Why would you agree to a celebration of your boot being polished? It's a little window into the way he operates.
To me, Alexander-Arnold just doesn't have the Liverpool stuff. Think of the Liverpool dressing-rooms of the past. The likes of Tommy Smith, Graeme Souness and Steve McMahon would have had him up against a wall over his nonsense.
The Liverpool way was always about the collective. They had brilliant individuals but nobody was allowed to think they were a superstar.
To me, Alexander-Arnold is the opposite. I see a massive ego, a vanity to the way he operates.
He wouldn't be the first Real Madrid player with those attributes so stick him on a plane to Spain. Give Carlo Ancelotti the headache of trying to get through to him.
I actually think Alexander-Arnold is getting worse, in terms of defending. At least under Klopp, he made some kind of an effort.
He doesn't make any now. Ibou Konate and Virgil van Dijk were busting a gut on Sunday trying to make up for problems their right-back was causing.
Alexander-Arnold was just strolling around. There were stewards who were more actively engaged in the game.
Slot has to bite the bullet now. Next up, Liverpool have a trip to a good Nottingham Forest side, who are going well. A Forest team who have already won at Anfield.
Bradley is back to fitness so he has to start. The stakes are too high for Slot to indulge Alexander-Arnold anymore.
Every team targets him. They know they will always have chances because he doesn't do his job.
Slot has to act because the kind of attitude Alexander-Arnold has can be poisonous in a dressing-room.
There are big personalities in that Liverpool squad. Behind closed doors, they should give Alexander-Arnold some home truths.
There have been plenty of draws between Liverpool and United over the years so, if you take the long view, the result isn't a surprise.
But United had lost four games in the trot, and hadn't scored in three.
Liverpool were at home, with a strong bench as well as a starting 11. They messed up because they're carrying a passenger at right-back.
You will get away with that in some games, but it will cost you in the long run.
This can be a great season for the Reds. They are well placed to win both the Premier League and Champions League, but it could all hinge on the Alexander-Arnold situation.
We have to be fair to United too. This performance was unrecognisable to the dismal one against Newcastle during the week.
They were well organised, battled hard, and the players played for the badge, the shirt, and the manager..
United went to the toughest away ground in England and really stepped up to the plate. They fully deserved their point.
Overall, it was a very entertaining and enjoyable game, and it's not a massive setback to Liverpool - given the Arsenal and Chelsea results.
But it's always about how you respond to a setback when in a title race.
Liverpool need a big performance and a win against Forest. That means Slot biting the bullet. Alexander-Arnold has to be dropped.
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