Since Alexander-Arnold left his boyhood club Liverpool last summer, the highly-rated English player has struggled to find his footing at Real Madrid. Former Liverpool teammate Robertson has expressed sympathy for his friend as Alexander-Arnold faces mounting criticism.

"It's completely different if you're an English player—it's not the same for players of other nationalities," Robertson said on The Overlap. "I've always told Trent that I'll never receive as much praise as him, but I'll also never face as much criticism."

He added: "My defensive approach at Liverpool is completely different from Trent's. I had Salah helping me, and Sadio was even more aggressive, so if I missed a tackle, he would usually be there to cover."

"With Salah, we don't want him dropping deep into our box. Often, Trent is left waiting for someone like Henderson to cover, which is why I sometimes feel for him."

Despite Alexander-Arnold's difficult start, Robertson believes he has the quality to succeed at the Bernabéu.

"I've seen him shut down Mbappé when he was at Paris Saint-Germain. In the Champions League final, his performance was outstanding," Robertson said. "Trent is a very good defender... In his best performances, he's an incredible one-on-one defender."

"Of course, he makes mistakes sometimes. But we all do. The problem is, Trent has carried this label that he 'can't defend' since he was very young. It's a tag he just can't shake off."

Alexander-Arnold has endured a difficult transition since joining Real Madrid. The right-back's departure from Liverpool last summer proved controversial.

When he left the Reds, Alexander-Arnold had won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, Club World Cup, FA Cup, two League Cups, and the UEFA Super Cup in five years. However, his first season at Real Madrid has been disappointing.

Injuries have limited Alexander-Arnold's playing time, and the coach who pushed for his signing, Xabi Alonso, was sacked. Alonso was succeeded by Arbeloa, who was later replaced by Mourinho.

So far this season, Alexander-Arnold has featured in only 4 of Real Madrid's 7 La Liga matches, starting just once. He was recalled to the England squad this week by manager Tuchel for the UEFA Nations League fixtures against Spain, Czech Republic, and Croatia.

His struggles in Spain have clearly affected his market value. Real Madrid signed him for £10 million shortly before his Liverpool contract expired, yet during his peak years at Anfield, Transfermarkt valued him at £110 million.

That valuation has now dropped to £60 million on the same platform, a decline attributed to his limited playing time over the past 18 months.

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