Guti says what many people think about Álvaro Arbeloa:'this guy...'

Álvaro Arbeloa has been, to the surprise of most people,  the one chosen by Florentino Pérez to try to redirect the situation Real Madrid is going through. The start of the season has been very complicated, with many fronts open internally and with an evident lack of play that has led to very discreet results. The defeat in the Super Cup final against the eternal rival served to definitively condemn Xabi Alonso.

The change on the bench is not understood only from the result, but from the accumulated wear and tear. The team did not manage to find a recognizable plan, the pressing was intermittent and the defense was far too exposed in every transition. At the Bernabéu, when soccer doesn't go along, defeats weigh twice as much.

Xabi Alonso for Álvaro Arbeloa

Xabi Alonso landed at Real Madrid, unleashing a great wave of excitement. The fans took his side from day one, charmed by his idea, his past as a player and his spell at Leverkusen. Despite the doubts, many Madridists kept their support for the man from Tolosa until the end, demanding explanations from Florentino after his dismissal.

A good part of Madridism considered that Xabi Alonso deserved more credit. It was not so much because of what the team was offering, but because of the context: injuries, short planning and a locker room with hierarchies that were difficult to move. In that scenario, the debate was not only whether there had to be a change, but whether the one chosen to make it was the right one.

This is where Álvaro Arbeloa comes in, a profile that generates opposing opinions. For some people he is a club man with a competitive discourse and the ability to bring order from moral authority. For others, his appointment seems like an emergency solution, based more on the institutional bond than on a résumé consolidated at the highest level.

Guti says what many people think of Álvaro Arbeloa: "This guy..."

One of those who has spoken out most clearly has been Guti. The legendary "14", always direct and sincere when he speaks about Real Madrid, has broken his silence to say what many people think about the change on the white bench. His words have resonated because they do not attack Arbeloa as a person, but they do question the viability of this type of decisions.

"I am sure that changes of coaches in the middle of the season usually don't work. It is true that when Zidane came it worked, but never in my time as a player. I think that it is very difficult to come in in the middle of the season, with a shaken locker room and with many absences", Guti said.

Moreover, Guti hinted at an even more delicate reading about Xabi Alonso's farewell. "It shows when the locker room is not comfortable or happy with the coach", he stated. He finished with a conclusion that many people interpret as the real trigger: "I think this has been the trigger for Xabi Alonso's departure".

This way, Guti puts on the table a simple but uncomfortable idea. If Xabi Alonso fell because of the locker room, Álvaro Arbeloa arrives at the most difficult scenario possible, because he inherits the same group of players who have condemned his friend.