Alvaro Arbeloa spoke very little about last night's match against Real Oviedo, which was dominated more by the atmosphere at the Santiago Bernabeu and the boos towards the players, especially towards stars like Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe, but above all by the statements that the Frenchman had made a few minutes earlier in the mixed zone.
The coach immediately refuted the striker as soon as he sat down in the Bernabéu press conference room:
"I didn't say such a phrase to him (who is the fourth striker at the moment), maybe he didn't understand me well. I decide who plays for as long as I'm sitting in this chair. I don't care if they don't agree, regardless of their name. And if they don't like it, let them wait for the next coach," Arbeloa declared in a harsh tone.
He then commented again on Mbappé's statements:
"I would really like to have four strikers. I don't know what to say, because I don't have four strikers and I didn't say anything like that. Maybe he didn't understand me well."
When asked about Mbappé's dissatisfaction, Arbeloa replied:
"If I don't activate him, he can't play, that's clear. I'm the coach and I decide who plays and who doesn't. Four days ago he couldn't even be on the bench and today's match wasn't a final. He will be the first striker, as I told him. I have no problem with anyone. I understand that those who don't play are not happy and that's normal, but the decision was made based on the circumstances. It was the most logical and natural thing not to risk another match in three days."
Regarding Mbappé's statements regarding the team structure:
"Until I hear everything he said... if he talked about the structure, it seems okay to me because he scored more goals in the first half of the season."
When asked if there is a distance between them, Arbeloa said:
"No. I just said that a player who four days ago couldn't even be on the bench, I decided not to play. Gonzalo deserved the reward of playing today. As long as I'm in this chair, I decide who plays, regardless of the name. If they like it, fine, if not, let them wait for the next coach."
He added that this situation didn't just happen to Mbappé:
"Not just with Kylian, but with more players than you can imagine. This has come about due to circumstances, because my situation has been different. I am very calm and with a clear conscience. I don't care if they don't agree with my decisions."
On the boos against Mbappé:
"I always look for support for the players."
As for the boos towards Vinicius:
"I'm sure the fans will support them again. They are the pillars of Real Madrid CF and the club continues to believe in them. The applause will return."
When asked if some players have been ungrateful, Arbeloa replied:
"I don't expect from my players what I have given for them. I know how footballers are. Now I am in this chair, but one never stops being a footballer. I know how they feel and what they think, especially players of this level, with big ambition and ego. I can understand everything. I wouldn't change anything from what I said or did, nor the way I defended them."
Finally, about the team's difficult season:
"You can't suffer being at Real Madrid. It's not a comfortable situation for anyone, because at this club we know the level of demand. A weak year is being combined with another season without titles. That makes everything more difficult. We have a big responsibility, we have to go to Sevilla to try to win and in the last game in front of our fans they deserve our maximum."
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