Liverpool players past and present respond to Trent Alexander-Arnold after response to substitution

Liverpool players past and present have sent a message to Trent Alexander-Arnold after the win over Brentford. The Reds claimed a 2-0 victory over the Bees to continue their 100 percent start to the new Premier League season.

Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah were on the score sheet at Anfield on Sunday to help Arne Slot win his first competitive fixture as Liverpool's head coach. The Reds will now prepare to face Manchester United at Old Trafford next weekend in the top flight.

Alexander-Arnold starred for Liverpool once again to continue his impressive start to the season. However, the game saw the right-back's response on the sidelines generate headlines.

Slot decided to substitute Alexander-Arnold to be replaced by Conor Bradley in the 72nd minute. The Liverpool head coach was spotted chatting to the vice-captain on the bench after the change, where Alexander-Arnold looked visibly unhappy after being withdrawn from the contest.

After the game, Alexander-Arnold posted a message on social media. On Instagram, the right-back wrote: "First win at home. Fans were incredible as always."

The post has generated more than 492,000 likes and several thousand comments, including many from fans urging Alexander-Arnold to sign a new contract which is currently set to expire next summer. Among the comments section were Liverpool players from the past as well as current members of the squad.

Diaz, who opened the scoring against Brentford, wrote three fire emojis in his response to Alexander-Arnold's post. Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who left the Reds last summer to move to Saudi Arabia, wrote a fire and heart emoji with his comment.

Slot was asked about Alexander-Arnold's possible irritation at being substituted when speaking to reporters after the game. The Liverpool head coach dismissed the idea of a rift between himself and the Reds vice-captain and explained the reason for the substitution.

“I understand. Every player wants to play 90 minutes but I don’t think the players who were on the bench from the start were really happy with the choice I made,” Slot told reporters on Sunday.

“Trent came back from [the] national team where at the beginning of the tournament [Euro 2024] he played quite a lot and then he didn’t. He had a few weeks off and then came back.

"It’s only his third game and we have to take care of him as well because we need him for the whole season and not only the first two games.

“What a good thing for me is that I have a very good backup with Conor [Bradley] as well. We are taking care of Trent, but he played a good game.”