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Arne Slot is preparing Liverpool to face Arsenal

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has admitted that convincing Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk to sign new contracts has eased the pain of losing Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Both Salah and Van Dijk committed themselves to two-year deals last month - only for born-and-bred Scouser Alexander-Arnold to tell the newly-crowned Premier League champions that he wants to seek a new challenge when his current agreement expires at the end of June.

Alexander-Arnold is heading for Real Madrid - and the Spanish giants are hoping to convince Anfield bosses to allow the England defender to make an early exit so he is free to play in the Club World Cup.



Reports in Spain have claimed that Liverpool were ready to pay the right-back more money than what is on offer at the Bernabeu and that Alexander-Arnold's decision was about ambition rather than cash.

Slot will hand Conor Bradley a start against Arsenal at Anfield - but that means Alexander-Arnold could face the full wrath of the Kop if he is brought on as a substitute.

The Reds are likely to bring in a new right-back during the summer - despite their Dutch manager’s defiant message that Alexander-Arnold’s departure will give him even more energy as he looks to replace one of his most creative players.

READ MORE:Mikel Arteta reveals Arsenal's summer transfer plans as five-man wishlist emergesREAD MORE:Mo Salah admits he WAS willing to leave Liverpool before signing new contract

Slot said: “If I could make the choice, I would prefer Trent to stay.

He inherited a squad in 2021 that had been stripped of nine regular starters, including captain Steven Berghuis, but still reached the Europa Conference Final.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is leaving Liverpool this summer(Image: PA)

Then, despite seeing Luis Sinisterra, Tyrell Malacia and Marcos Senesi depart to the Premier League, he guided the Rotterdam club to the Eredivisie title.

That isn’t an issue he will face when Liverpool go into the market armed with piles of Premier League and Champions League prize money.

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