Sheringham backs Alexander-Arnold to revive career with Arsenal move after Real Madrid struggles

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s first season at Real Madrid has fallen well short of the ambitions that drove him to leave Liverpool last summer, and former England striker Teddy Sheringham now believes a move to Arsenal could be the right-back’s best route back to relevance.

Alexander-Arnold arrived in the Spanish capital harbouring hopes of nailing down the right-back berth and even contending for the Ballon d’Or. Instead, he struggled with fitness and form, lost his battle with veteran Dani Carvajal for a starting place, and was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the 2026 World Cup.

The situation at the Bernabéu appears to have worsened further. With José Mourinho set to take charge and Real Madrid having agreed a deal to sign Inter Milan right-back Denzel Dumfries, Alexander-Arnold’s path to regular football looks increasingly narrow.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have a genuine need at right-back. Both Ben White and Jurrien Timber endured injury-hit campaigns last season, leaving centre-back Cristhian Mosquera to fill in regularly for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Sheringham, speaking to BOYLE Sports, acknowledged the move would be contentious but argued the structure of Arteta’s system could unlock the best of Alexander-Arnold. “Liverpool fans might not want him back, so it does narrow down where he could go,” he said. “He doesn’t immediately strike me as an Arsenal player, to be fair. I think they’re too strong and resilient and work as a proper back four unit. But they could make it work for him.”

Sheringham drew a comparison with other defenders who struggled when exposed by a disorganised team around them. “Even if you have an organised back four with fantastic players, if you leave him on his own Trent looks all over the place — but that was true of Harry Maguire when Manchester United weren’t playing well. If you did that to Tony Adams or Steve Bruce, they’d have looked shocking.”

“If you put Trent in an organised, structured back four, and they work as a unit, that’s what playing in a team like Arsenal is all about. If someone worked with Trent along those lines, coached him to get in the right position at the right times, then I’m sure he could improve in that position to give Arsenal that extra dimension that he brings to a team.”

Alexander-Arnold left Liverpool having won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Club World Cup, the FA Cup, two League Cups and the UEFA Super Cup during his time at Anfield. His debut campaign in Madrid yielded no silverware.