Trent Alexander-Arnold delivers three-word message after England snub

An emboldened Trent Alexander-Arnold, who delivered the match-winning assist in the Madrid derby, took to Instagram to deliver an emphatic message following his exclusion from Thomas Tuchel's England squad.

The right back had been dropped from Real Madrid's starting line-up for the derby as a punishment for lateness, according to reports.

It came just two days after Alexander-Arnold had been snubbed by England boss Tuchel, a fourth successive absence from the national team and one which casts a huge amount of doubt on his hopes of playing at this summer's World Cup.

Perhaps the two omissions had lit a fire in Alexander-Arnold, who has struggled to adjust to life with Los Blancos since his high-profile signing in the summer.

The 27-year-old was substituted for Dani Carvajal in the 64th minute on Sunday, and made an instant impact. He came close to finding the back of the net himself, but his free-kick was parried away by Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Juan Musso.

A few minutes later, Alexander-Arnold picked up the ball inside his own half and deftly managed to dribble past an ailing Atletico player, before finding Vinicius Junior at the edge of the penalty area.

The Brazilian still had plenty of work to do, cutting across the edge of the box before firing into the far right corner with a sweet finish to win Real Madrid the game. 

Writing on social media alongside a picture of him alongside Vinicius Junior, Alexander-Arnold wrote: 'Madrid. Y nada mas', which translates to 'Madrid. And nothing else'.

Alexander-Arnold has seen his situation stabilise at Real Madrid since the departure of Xabi Alonso and the promotion of Alvaro Arbeloa from the club’s third-division reserve team in January.

Although he hasn't enjoyed a significant uptick in playing time, reports suggest that Arbeloa thinks highly of the Englishman. 

And the Spaniard played down Alexander-Arnold's absence from the starting XI in his post-match press conference, without confirming what had happened.

Reports say that Alexander-Arnold had arrived around 20 minutes late for Saturday's training session, and that he had accepted the punishment and apologised to his coach, captain Dani Carvajal and the rest of his team-mates.

A day prior, Alexander-Arnold had learned of Tuchel's decision to leave him out of the England squad for the last international camp before the Geman finalises his squad for this summer's tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

With Chelsea's Reece James - England's first-choice right-back under Tuchel - missing the friendly games against Uruguay and Japan on 27 and 31 March due to a hamstring injury, many believed that Alexander-Arnold would be a near certainty to be included for the first time since June 2025.

But despite playing for Real Madrid in the knockout stages of the Champions League and England stalwarts Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier being retired, the former Liverpool defender finds himself with at least five other players in front of him. Those include Jarrell Quansah, Djed Spence and Tino Livramento.

'A slightly different profile,' Tuchel said when asked about what the other players bring.

'It's not what Trent cannot offer us. I know very well what Trent can offer.

'I suffered when he played against my teams with Liverpool. I know very well about his strengths and what he can give.'

Tuchel stressed that he has not closed the door to Alexander-Arnold becoming involved in his World Cup squad, although he did express concerns last year over his defending.

'I can see that sometimes he relies heavily on his offensive contributions, and gives not so much emphasis on the defensive discipline and effort,' he said last May.

‘I think there is a point to it. This major impact that he had for Liverpool over so many years, if he wants to have this impact in the English national team, then he has to take the defensive part very, very seriously.

'Because when we are talking, especially, about qualifying football and then tournament football, the one defensive error, the one moment where you are not 100 per cent awake, can be decisive, can be the moment where you pack your suitcases and go home.'