I know what Mo Salah will be thinking – Trent Alexander-Arnold never made this mistake’…

‘I understand what Mo Salah might be contemplating – Trent Alexander-Arnold would never have made this error.’

The exit of Trent Alexander-Arnold was a topic of discussion for Theo Walcott, who elaborated on why Mohamed Salah would feel the absence of the former Liverpool star this season.

Theo Walcott is of the opinion that Mohamed Salah will miss his collaboration with Trent Alexander-Arnold because the ex-Liverpool player was aware of his intentions.

Since the Egyptian joined the Reds in 2017, he has consistently had the England international behind him as his right-back, except for this season.

Alexander-Arnold chose to leave Anfield after two decades to join Real Madrid this past summer.

Following his exit, Arne Slot brought in Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen, who was anticipated to compete with Conor Bradley for the right-back position.

Twelve matches into the season, neither player has managed to assert themselves as a reliable starter in that role.

The Dutchman is now facing another period on the sidelines after sustaining a hamstring injury during the 5-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Their difficulties, along with the absence of Alexander-Arnold, have certainly not aided Salah in what has been his poorest start to a season in a Liverpool jersey. The 33-year-old has only netted three goals across all competitions.

It’s not solely his lack of goal contributions that has drawn criticism from both media and fans, but also the decline in his impact on matches.

The significant change in his performance prompted Slot to bench him during the Champions League match in Germany, just days after he substituted the winger while the Reds were seeking a winner in their 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.

While speaking on the It’s Called Soccer podcast, Walcott mentioned that the rapport Salah had with Alexander-Arnold regarding not encroaching on his space at the attacking end of the pitch is not one he has yet established with his current right-backs.

He remarked: “I recall as a winger when I had someone like Bacary Sagna behind me or [Emmanuel] Eboue or whoever it might be, I always preferred them to remain behind me [and] avoid pulling players into my area.”

He remarked: “I recall my time as a winger when I had players like Bacary Sagna or [Emmanuel] Eboue behind me; I always preferred them to remain back and not pull defenders into my area.

“If you consider who his full-back was, it was consistently Trent [who] would set it back and deliver the ball in. He never made runs behind Salah.

Virgil van Dijk always provided that support, and while there are discussions about Trent’s defensive capabilities, he actually enhanced Virgil’s performance by delaying the play.”

Slot even acknowledged that Salah’s difficulties might stem from Alexander-Arnold’s departure and emphasized that time is essential for the Liverpool star to establish a rapport on the field with the new signings from the summer.

During his post-match press conference prior to their Saturday match against Brentford, the Reds manager addressed the media: “This has been a challenging period for all of us.

No one is accustomed to losing, especially for the players who have been here for many years, and even for the newcomers, as we began the season with seven victories.

“Perhaps his entire time at Liverpool has been alongside Trent, so that could be a factor. However, he has found himself in promising positions frequently enough to score, possibly even more so with Trent.

Generally speaking, when there are several changes in the summer, new connections must be established. Mo is not an exception to this.”

Salah has now gone six matches without scoring and has only one assist during this stretch.

He received significant backlash on social media following the win in Frankfurt when he failed to pass the ball to Florian Wirtz in the 89th minute, which would have allowed the German to easily score into an open net. Instead, he chose to take a shot, which was saved by Michael Zetterer.