Trent Alexander-Arnold speaks out about Real Madrid as he makes Liverpool point

Daily Mirror

4 hours ago

Trent Alexander-Arnold has not been at Real Madrid for long, but the England international's new team-mates have already made an impression following his move from Liverpool
Trent Alexander-Arnold has admitted that while he knew his Real Madrid team-mates were going to be world-class, he didn't expect them to be so friendly. The England international moved to Los Blancos after the La Liga giants agreed to pay Liverpool £10million to sign him a month ahead of schedule.
He was initially going to move to the Spanish capital as a free agent, but Real's desire to include Alexander-Arnold in their Club World Cup squad prompted them to pay a fee to sign him earlier. In their final group match in the USA, Xabi Alonso deployed the right-back for the full 90 minutes as they beat RB Salzburg 3-0.
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It was the latest sign that the defender is further settling into life at the 15-time European champions. Even Alexander-Arnold, who knew the quality they'd possess having faced them five times for his boyhood club, is surprised by the way his new team-mates have taken to him.
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Speaking to reporters after Real overcame the Austrian side, Alexander-Arnold said: "Every player is impressing me. From when I played against Real Madrid, [I knew] all the players are world class.
"But just the way the lads are; when you come in, you expect it to be very intimidating, you don't know what to expect. But it was very warm, very welcoming, they made me feel at home straight away, which was amazing.
"It allows me to play as well as I can and today coming into the game, I was confident to go and perform. The settlement period now is done.
"It's about kicking on and being the best player that I can be and giving the best for the team and helping the team win as many games as possible starting with this competition.'
Alexander-Arnold won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, the FA Cup, the Club World Cup (in its previous format) and two League Cups during his time at Liverpool. Throughout his time at Anfield, he contributed 67 assists, more than any other defender in Premier League history.
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When he arrived at his new club, he endeared himself to his colleagues and supporters by speaking in Spanish during his unveiling. While that has gone some way to helping him make a good impression, Alexander-Arnold admits he is still struggling to get to grips with the language.
He added: "Of course speaking and being a part of the conversation is harder. You work hard to try and understand what people are saying and be a part of it.
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"But the manager speaks to me a lot individually to make sure I understand everything that gets said. The meetings are in Spanish so he goes out his way and the staff go out the way to make sure I understand the game plan. So there's differences but it's just football.'
Real progressed into the last 16 of the competition as group winners. They started the campaign with a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal, before overcoming Mexican team Pachuca and then Salzburg.
They face Juventus, who were demolished 5-2 by Manchester City in their final group match, in the next round on July 1.