Former Chelsea defender William Gallas has urged Trent Alexander-Arnold to leave Real Madrid and join Arsenal or Bayern Munich.

William Gallas has told Trent Alexander-Arnold to leave Real Madrid, suggesting Arsenal and Bayern Munich as potential destinations. The former Liverpool right-back has struggled for regular minutes under Jose Mourinho.

Alexander-Arnold arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu with considerable expectations after leaving Liverpool, where he established himself as one of Europe’s finest attacking full-backs. However, the 28-year-old has found it difficult to secure a regular place in Mourinho’s starting XI this season.

He has started only four of Real Madrid’s 11 La Liga matches and has featured in eight of their 15 games across competitions, accumulating just 435 minutes. Federico Valverde and summer arrival Denzel Dumfries have also complicated his efforts to establish himself as the first-choice right-back.

Mourinho’s Real Madrid side emphasises defensive solidity and positional discipline at full-back, a departure from the transition-heavy system that unleashed Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool, a tactical mismatch that may explain his bench role despite his reputation.

Speaking to SeatPick, the Chelsea centre-back said a departure could now be the best solution for the former Liverpool star.

“I think Trent Alexander-Arnold will move on now because he hasn’t played many games at Real Madrid. He went there because it was his dream and when you have Real Madrid knocking on your door, it’s very difficult to say no,” Gallas said via TEAMtalk.

“When he was at Liverpool, he was fantastic. We knew his best skill was not defending. It was playing on the counter-attack with those crosses and assists. Now the question for him is which club can give him the same system because he is not the best defender in the world when one-on-one. We know about this.

“That’s why he needs to find a club that can give him the opportunity to play more on the counter-attack and grant him the chance to play like he did at Liverpool. Is that Arsenal, Chelsea or even a club like Manchester United?”

Gallas believes Bayern could be an ideal destination

Gallas suggested Bayern Munich could be ideal, citing Alexander-Arnold’s pedigree at Liverpool as evidence of his suitability to a system that rewards attacking full-backs.

“I don’t know. Maybe Bayern Munich can give him that because he’s got the quality, and what he did at Liverpool was just fantastic,” Gallas added.

“We want to see that from him again, delivering those beautiful balls up the pitch, so let’s see what is going to happen for him.”

Arsenal could also benefit from his attacking qualities, particularly with Ben White currently preferred by Mikel Arteta at right-back. Alexander-Arnold would offer considerably more creativity and quality in possession.

Bayern already have Josip Stanisic and Konrad Laimer as options, but neither provides the same attacking threat as the Englishman. Both clubs could therefore consider an approach if his situation in Madrid remains unchanged.

A departure appears increasingly likely if Mourinho continues to prefer Valverde and Dumfries over Alexander-Arnold.