Real Madrid's loss to Arsenal shows why Los Blancos need Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold

The Englishman has been linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu, and he's just what Los Blancos need

The recriminations in Spain and beyond were inevitable long before the final whistle in the Santiago Bernabeu. Florentino Perez had taken an emerging Real Madrid that had everything he needed and ruined it by throwing a superstar-shaped spanner into the works. Arsenal, a carefully drilled unit that in some ways resembled the 2024 European champions at their best, had blown apart an opponent who put you in mind of the worst excesses of the mid 2000s, when Perez was adding fresh coats of paint to the Bentley annually while the engine was taken by the bailiffs.

But the Galactico project has not failed. Galactico production must increase until results improve. Madrid's problem this season has not been that they signed Kylian Mbappe. It is that they never adequately replaced Toni Kroos.

Sure, Federico Valverde got the No.8 shirt and he has delivered outstanding performances throughout this season. Even in defeat, the Uruguayan was among the few in Madrid colors who did not significantly blot their copybook. Valverde did all that could have been asked of him and more, filling in at right back in the first leg and functioning as the go-to guy in possession in the forlorn pursuit at the Bernabeu. No one had more touches, attempted more passes or progressed the ball upfield more than Valverde. It is just a task that does not play perfectly to his skill set.