Unexpected situation: Arnold's future with Real Madrid hanging in the balance
Arnold arrived at the Santiago Bernabéu with great ambitions.
Trent Alexander-Arnold's future at Real Madrid is in doubt. He has slipped down the pecking order while Fede Valverde has cemented his place as one of the team's key men at right-back, followed by Denzel Dumfries, leaving the England international as the third choice.
Since 15 September, Alexander-Arnold has featured only against Villarreal, a game in which he was hooked in the 52nd minute, plus a token appearance in the Clasico.
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Things don't look easy for the former Liverpool man. Mourinho prefers to lean on the physically stronger options like Valverde and Dumfries, which limits Alexander-Arnold's involvement to matches in which the Portuguese coach feels his side holds a comfortable lead, according to the Spanish newspaper Sport.
One telling detail backs this up: Alexander-Arnold has started just one match away from the Bernabeu, against Elche.
He has played seven games this season, racking up only 344 minutes. Dumfries, by contrast, has appeared in three more matches and started three more than his teammate, taking his total to almost 600 minutes.
A complicated future
Alexander-Arnold's future at Real Madrid looks extremely complicated. The England full-back arrived in Spain carrying huge expectations as one of the best players in his position on the planet.
Real Madrid paid 10 million euros to sign him and bring him in for the Club World Cup, even though his Liverpool contract was due to expire just days later.
His adaptation to the team proved anything but smooth. He played 30 matches in his first season, starting 22, in a campaign of fluctuating form. After just one year, the club saw the need to gamble heavily on Dumfries to fill the same role, while Valverde keeps proving he can add something extra down the right.
Life in the white shirt has not played out as Alexander-Arnold imagined. A few months before his move, the full-back spoke of his ambition to win the Ballon d'Or. The story has changed dramatically, and his future at the club is now in question.
Neither Real Madrid nor the player appear to be thinking of ending the relationship right now. Yet the reality is that a lack of game time could, in the medium term, force a rethink over Alexander-Arnold's stay in the Spanish capital, according to the newspaper.
