Back in 2020 during the dark days of the Covid pandemic, Jordan Henderson looked out upon an empty Anfield as the Reds attempted to celebrate their first English top-flight title in 30 years without their supporters present.
Perhaps that's why everyone celebrated with such enthusiasm after Sunday's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace. The famous old ground was packed to the rafters and no one who was there will forget just what a joyous occasion it turned out to be.
Liverpool fans showed Trent their appreciation
Even Alexander-Arnold, who had been booed in the last home game, was cheered by the famous Kop end as he lifted the trophy in front of an adoring Liverpool public, knowing they would be his last experiences as a 'Red', because after 20 years, Trent is moving on to pastures new.
Arne Slot clearly hasn't wasted any time in finding a replacement, however, with Liverpool believed to be ready to meet the £29.5m release clause of Bayer Leverkusen's excellent full-back, Jeremie Frimpong.
Can Jeremie Frimpong fill the void left by Alexander-Arnold?
With former Liverpool midfielder, Xabi Alonso, leaving his post as Leverkusen coach to take over at Real Madrid, that's likely to trigger a mass exodus of the German outfit's best players, with Frimpong set to be the first of many departures.
The question is, can he fill the void left by Alexander-Arnold?
If we look at the numbers, they stand up reasonably well when compared to the England international, and we should also perhaps mention that Frimpong, at 24, is two years younger than his contemporary, which could prove significant.
The Dutchman actually began his senior career as part of Manchester City's U21 development side but was quickly moved on to Celtic in 2019/20.
Leverkusen switch came at the right time
It wasn't until he transferred to Leverkusen that he started to fulfil his obvious potential and since the 2020/21 season, the full-back has amassed an impressive 29 goals and 39 assists.
In the same time frame, Alexander-Arnold has managed just 15 goals, though his 53 assists set him apart. Go back to the 14/15 season and his assists rise up into the 80+ mark, astonishing for a full-back.
It isn't just with his goal contributions where the England international excels either. In the past five seasons, the least amount of passes he's made in a Premier League campaign is 1,616, whilst in 20/21 that rose to an astonishing 2,381.
Frimpong on the other hand has struggled to reach four figures, with his best effort coming in 2022/23 when he attempted 935 passes; however, both have a similar pass completion statistic in the mid to upper 70% range and higher.
Though roughly half of the amount of passes made could be interpreted as a less than impressive work ethic from the younger of the two men, consider for a moment how both teams are set up.
Liverpool's double pivot allows the full-backs to work the channels
Whilst Alonso has encouraged his full-backs to support Leverkusen's attacking play, it hasn't appeared to be a pre-requisite for the Spaniard. Just as much of Leverkusen's forward momentum seems to have come via the likes of Exequiel Palacios or Granit Xhaka more centrally.
The 3-4-3 formation Alonso evidently prefers does give licence to Frimpong (and Alex Grimaldo on the opposite side) to get up the pitch, though Arne Slot's 4-2-3-1 when in possession is much more conducive to getting the most out of his wing-backs.
Playing with a double pivot to protect the Liverpool defence has allowed Trent and Andrew Robinson to consistently raid down the channels, and therefore one can expect that Frimpong will likely have to add new elements to his natural game if his move to Anfield materialises.
His 219 shots on goal over the past few seasons isn't too far off of Trent's 298, and 86 of those on target is exactly 20 more than the soon-to-be ex-Liverpool man has managed.
Defensively, questions have sometimes been asked of Alexander-Arnold, and it was even floated at one point that the player might be better off as an attacking midfielder rather than a defender who likes to get forward at every opportunity.
He's won 224 of his 353 tackles attempted, with a success rate in the league which hovers around the mid-60s mark. Frimpong has successfully challenged for the ball on 137 occasions out of 226, which is a significantly lower statistic and one which would point to those slight positional differences despite both players ostensibly having the same role.
Not tracking back certainly won't be in Slot's vocabulary either and that could be the one single biggest difference in Frimpong's natural game moving forward.
Frimpong excels in certain aspects of play
As we can see from the radar graphic comparison, the defensive actions from Trent actually far outweigh the Dutchman's efforts, as does his possession-won stat per 90 minutes.
In terms of the number of touches in a league game this past season, here too the Liverpool man excels. However, in every other aspect, Frimpong is either better than or only slightly worse than Alexander-Arnold.
If Slot is going to get the former to dribble at his opponents - and he continues in the same vain as in the 2024/25 campaign - he'll attempt roughly three per match which is double Trent's output.
As long as Frimpong can get up and down the pitch too, he'll get more involved at the sharp end and busy himself in the opposition box, though it must still be borne in mind that Slot will want him back and defending in a 4-4-2 so he can't be consistently caught out upfield.
Bundesliga isn't as strong as the Premier League
With respect too, the Bundesliga isn't as strong across the board as the Premier League, so what the 24-year-old may have routinely managed in the German top flight might not come as easily to him in England.
That said, Frimpong appears to have the energy, work-rate and desire to succeed.
Ultimately, that success will be measured by just how well he can 'slot' into Liverpool's back four in Alexander-Arnold's stead.
