Liverpool has demonstrated Right at $165 million, Trent Alexander-Arnold The call from Pep Guardiola says a lot.

Before Liverpool vs. Manchester City, Trent Alexander-Arnold made remarks that sparked controversy. Ultimately, Pep Guardiola demonstrated why he was correct all along.

Pep Guardiola reacts on the touchline during Liverpool’s draw with Manchester City (Image: Getty Images)

Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was never going to play, nevertheless became the talk of the town prior to Liverpool’s match against Manchester City.

The defending champions were agitated by his theory that Liverpool’s recent trophies have meant more to the Reds than City has for the Etihad club. Erling Haaland and Rúben Dias were the first to retaliate, and even though he didn’t say it aloud, Pep Guardiola’s direct answer at the pre-game press conference spoke volumes.

More forward, Kyle Walker disclosed that during the build-up, Alexander-Arnold had been the talk of the City dressing room. As a result, you may have anticipated a motivated team to arrive at Anfield eager to take the lead in the championship battle.

Rather, what we witnessed was a side that gradually withered under the Reds’ pressure. One team would have been much happier with the point at the end of the game, and that team was definitely not Liverpool.

You could tell as much from Alexis Mac Allister’s response upon scoring his penalty. After starting to celebrate, the Argentine turned abruptly back towards the goal, picked up the ball, and ran back to the center circle. The Reds smelled blood, and they knew how important this game was.

You could have overlooked the fact that Haaland was on the field during the second half given all of his pregame remarks. The Norwegian played most of the game with his head firmly in Virgil van Dijk’s pocket, as many people will undoubtedly be commenting on social media this evening.

Instead of facing what was in front of them, City appeared to be engaging in more internal strife. After being replaced in the second half, Kevin De Bruyne uncharacteristically became very angry at his manager, and Guardiola took a long time to try to explain his choice to his best player.

While the camera was focused on that couple, there was additional evidence of Alexander-Arnold’s comments being exactly correct elsewhere on the bench. Guardiola decided to ignore Matheus Nunes and Joško Gvardiol because his team was now clearly second in the game.

Both were expensive summer signings, totaling about $165 million (£128 million/€151 million). But, it was evident that they were deemed unnecessary for the biggest game of the season.

It makes sense why Alexander-Arnold believes that Liverpool benefits more from the two clubs’ respective financial success. How is that not possible? Ultimately, even though the Reds used three of their four summer acquisitions, their total cost was still lower than that of two of City’s benched replacements. The elephant in the room, or rather, the 115 elephants, hasn’t even been discussed.

Liverpool has been fighting City’s exorbitant spending for years, but it has managed to stay up with them and proved today that it is more than capable of defeating them to win another title. Despite Alexander-Arnold not being on the field, Mac Allister and associates demonstrated precisely what that would entail.