“What happens in the Real Madrid dressing room, stays in the Real Madrid dressing room” – Alvaro Arbeloa

Arbeloa’s relationship with the players

Ceballos is not the only player that Arbeloa has a rocky relationship with if the reporting is to be believed. Raul Asencio and Dani Carvajal have not seen eye-to-eye with him. Arbeloa was asked if he was disappointed with some of the players.

“Of course not, I defend them publicly. I’m in their hands because of what they show me every day. That’s what a coach should do. We’ve had a pretty open relationship with most of them. Whatever needs to be resolved is between us. I will always defend them from this position.”

Explanation for poor results

In terms of an explanation for the disappointing results in recent months, Arbeloa did suggest that his side needed more battle.

“There are a lot of matches. The results are far from what Real Madrid should be achieving. You can’t beat anyone these days just by getting off the bus. We have to improve a lot, collectively. The talent we have isn’t enough to just keep the ball on the ground and play individually. We need a plan, a structure, a way to disrupt the opposition… They have a different mentality, and we’ve paid the price in points.”

Yet he rejected the idea that there was a lack of desire from the Real Madrid team.

“Those are assessments that belong in the press. We’ve dropped points against rivals we shouldn’t have conceded, and that’s what hurts the most. There are situations that are difficult to control and they happen often. We have to fight.”