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Gary Neville has given his verdict on Trent Alexander-Arnold's impending Liverpool exit(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has defended Trent Alexander-Arnold's decision to leave Liverpool.

The Reds will bid farewell to their full-back at the end of the season when his contract expires after he announced his departure from the club.

Neville has claimed that the England international 'resisted' calls from teammates Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah in order to pave a move to Real Madrid.



The 50-year-old described the possible move to the La Liga giants as 'enormous' and that Los Blancos are a club that have the capabilities to lure some of the best players from England's elite.

Liverpool made their efforts to extend Alexander-Arnold's stay at Anfield but he decided to leave the club, in search of a new opportunity.

READ MORE:Liverpool line-up for Arsenal confirmed as six changes made and forward left out of squadREAD MORE:Virgil van Dijk issues blunt reaction to Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool exit - 'Me and Mo decided to stay'

Neville raised a series of theories as to why the decision was made to announce his departure in light of their defeat to Chelsea, following their Premier League title triumph a week earlier.

"We don't know why it's come out, maybe it was about to get leaked, or be continuously asked and it needed to come out there," he said.

"It is what it is, it's gone, Liverpool fans have reacted to it, the whole football community have, it's been a real question mark for the last month and the pressure was only going to get greater.

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"I've got an enormous amount of respect for him, being a local lad, and making the decision to go to Real Madrid.

"I imagine it would've been a big decision and people like Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk would've been saying to him, 'stay with us, we want to build a new team for the next few years' and he's resisted those things to go.

"It's took some bravery, some fans will be hurt by that and I understand completely but it's an enormous challenge.

"It's that one club Liverpool have lost players to, Man United have to before and other clubs will always lose players to them."

Alexander-Arnold received a mixture of jeers and cheers as he started on the bench for the clash against Arsenal on Sunday.

Conor Bradley returned to the starting 11, as Arne Slot confirmed he would during his pre-match press conference, and he confirmed pre-match that the England defender was left out due to his decision to leave the club.

"No not a reaction, the fact that he's leaving, that's one of the reasons to play Conor," he said.

"But not a reaction, if that crossed my mind maybe I'd have taken him out of the squad.

"I think the people expect me to bring a squad where there is a chance to win the game, the fans want this, the players want to win the game so I have to select a team capable to do so.

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"If Conor is not ready to play 90 then I am happy that I can bring Trent on if needed."


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