Álvaro Arbeloa's days are numbered at Real Madrid: the club already has his replacement ready

Things at Real Madrid are still not working. Neither with Xabi Alonso before, nor now with Álvaro Arbeloa, has the team managed to offer the consistency and character that the badge demands. The results are not helping and, above all, the feelings are generating constant doubts.

There are more and more voices pointing out that the problem is not only with the coach. A lack of attitude, apathy at key moments, and a worrying competitive disconnection are pointing directly at the locker room. Even so, as usually happens in soccer, the first one who is blamed is always the one who sits on the bench.

Arbeloa took on an uncomfortable challenge

Álvaro Arbeloa took charge of the team after Xabi Alonso's dismissal in a complicated context. It was not an easy situation for anyone. He arrived with the intention of reactivating the group, recovering the intensity, and strengthening the collective commitment, but the impact has been limited.

Inside the club, they value his involvement and his knowledge of the institution. Arbeloa represents Madridism's values and has tried to convey them day by day. When the results do not come and the team doesn't respond, the room for maneuver is reduced.

The name that is already strongly rumored

Although Arbeloa's position is not in immediate danger for now, the offices at Bernabéu are already starting to look to the future. According to Ramón Álvarez de Mon, if Real Madrid decide to change coach at the end of the season, there is one name that stands out above the rest.

This is Unai Emery, current Aston Villa coach. The white club would already have held talks to learn about his availability and his willingness to face a possible top-level challenge. It is not a formal negotiation, but it is a first significant contact.

Time, pressure, and decisions

For the moment, Arbeloa still has credit. The season is alive, there are options both in La Liga and in the Champions League, and the club doesn't want to make hasty decisions. But the background noise exists, and at Real Madrid that is never a coincidence.

Florentino Pérez and his board know that the margin for error is minimal, and if the team doesn't react, the change on the bench will be inevitable. Unai Emery appears as plan B... or perhaps something more. The future is not written yet, but the message is clear: at Real Madrid it is not enough to endure, the team must convince, and Arbeloa's time is starting to run.