‘I can tell you...’: Scotland star defends teammate in emotional address after major transfer development

The 26-year-old, who Robertson describes as his ‘best mate’ in football, announced he would be leaving the club last week following the expiration of his contract this summer, with a free transfer move to Real Madrid expected to be announced in the coming days.

Despite his departure, the England international has featured regularly for Liverpool as they have romped to the English Premier League title, and started yesterday’s game with Arsenal scored two second-half goals to rescue a 2-2 draw with the league leaders on Merseyside.

However, with the title already wrapped up a fortnight ago, the post-match discussion continued to centre around the departure of Alexander-Arnold, and Roberson was asked for his thoughts while interviewed by the Sky Sports cameras.

“There is a lot of emotion around it,” admitted Robertson. “I think it’s crucial in these moments that I don’t tell you how to feel and you don’t tell me how to feel about it. I’m disappointed to lose my best mate in the game. We’ve done it all together. He’s an amazing player, an amazing person, and he’s made me a better player, and that’s from the bottom of my heart. He's took me to levels I never knew existed.

“He kept pushing me through the good years and he's made a choice. I think his legacy at the club is there for everyone to see. The trophies he's won, the moments he's had in history will always be there. It is of course an emotional decision and it's not been an easy one. He's made the decision and it's not nice to see a friend get booed but as I said we can't tell people how to act.

“I can tell you how I feel about, I'm extremely proud of what he's done for the club. I love him as a friend and player and he will be missed for me as one of my best friends in the game.”

Robertson’s comments were echoed by Reds boss Arne Slot, who insisted he has no doubts about the attitude and application of Alexander-Arnold, saying: “I don't think there's any possibility whatever can happen that can take the edge of us winning this 20th league title. The thing I consider is I want to win a game of football and if we think we can win with Trent, I owe it to his team-mates and to the fans, because they (Liverpool) hired me to win as many games of football as possible.

“If I think there's a better chance of winning with Trent, then I will (pick him). If I think it's a distraction or whatever can happen for us not to play a good game of football, then I might, might, might make another decision. But I think Trent showed today why I brought him in because he was very close with a few fantastic crosses for us to win the game.”