Confusion surrounds 27-year-old’s role at Real Madrid after recent developments

Real Madrid’s 4-0 victory over Valencia on Saturday was another masterclass from Xabi Alonso’s men, but one decision left everyone puzzled, which was Trent Alexander-Arnold’s complete absence from the pitch.

Despite being back in the squad after recovering from injury, the English right-back did not play a single minute.

What makes this decision even more surprising is that Dani Carvajal remains sidelined, meaning Alexander-Arnold is currently the only natural right-back available.

Yet, Alonso once again opted to field Federico Valverde in that position, marking the fifth consecutive match in that position.

Alexander-Arnold had been sidelined since September with an injury and recovered in time for El Clasico.

Despite making the squad for that match, Alonso preferred to start Valverde and later brought on Carvajal, who was himself coming back from injury.

What is going on with Alexander-Arnold at Real Madrid? (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

With Carvajal now out, it was widely expected that Alexander-Arnold would return to the starting XI against Valencia, particularly with an emotional fixture against Liverpool coming up on Tuesday.

Instead, he remained on the bench throughout, even when Madrid were comfortably leading 4-0.

This pattern suggests that Alonso currently does not fully trust the 27-year-old defender, or that there might be fitness or tactical issues that have not been made public.

Barring any major surprises, it now looks highly unlikely that Alexander-Arnold will start against Liverpool.

For a player who was expected to bring creativity from deep, this situation raises serious questions.

Something, without a doubt, is going on, and it does not appear to be purely tactical.