Arbeloa in the wind… a last-ditch lifeline for the Real Madrid manager

According to the Spanish newspaper *AS*, the Champions League has become Arbeloa’s last chance to salvage his future, after the gap to Barcelona in La Liga widened following the surprise defeat to Real Mallorca.

It noted that hopes of competing for the league title are now out of reach, placing Arbeloa under immense pressure in the continental competition, as his future hinges largely on what the team can achieve against Bayern Munich in the first round, followed by a clash with Paris Saint-Germain or Liverpool in a tougher stage later on.

"AS" explained that the situation would have been completely different had Arbeloa managed to keep fighting for the league title until the very end.

The Mallorca match dealt a severe blow to the positive momentum Arbeloa had brought to the Madrid project, as the management saw a team lacking the spark and intensity required at a time when there is no room for error, and the club’s hierarchy began to scrutinise the manager’s decisions, whether it was benching Vinícius Júnior or unexpectedly fielding young players in the starting line-up, despite the fine performance put in by the youngster Manuel Ángel given the sensitivity of the situation.

The statistics do not reflect well on Arbeloa’s tenure with the first team, as the defeat to Mallorca was his fifth in 18 matches, compared to 13 wins. By contrast, Xabi Alonso also lost five matches, but those came in 28 games in which he recorded 20 wins and three draws.

With this poor record, Arbeloa has entered the club’s history books as one of the managers with the most defeats at the start of their tenure, with Koping and Moloni topping the list with eight defeats, followed by Del Bosque with seven, and then six defeats each for Albinés, Scaroni, Hiddink, Amancio and Arsenio, while Arbeloa is tied with Kinké and Ibina on 5 defeats.

The statistics highlight another factor: the limited impact of Arbeloa’s in-game decisions on results, particularly when the team is trailing. Under his leadership, Real Madrid managed to turn the game around in just two of the seven matches they started losing: against Benfica (2–1) and Atlético Madrid (3–2), whilst they lost the other five in which they conceded the first goal: against Albaseti 3-2, Benfica 4-2, Osasuna 2-1, Getafe 0-1 and Mallorca 2-1.

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The manager insists on taking full responsibility following every defeat, as was the case at the Son Moix stadium, when he stated: “I am the one who makes the decisions, selects the line-up, makes substitutions and chooses the style of play; this defeat is the sole responsibility of the Real Madrid manager.”

Nevertheless, this time there was an indirect reference to Camavinga when discussing the opposition’s goal, as he said, “Due to a lack of discipline, they scored against us… If you lose concentration here for a moment or fail to mark properly, it will cost you a goal.”

There is a sense of confidence within the club regarding Arbeloa’s work, with great appreciation for his efforts in managing the dressing room and bringing stability to stars such as Vinícius, Bellingham and Valverde, as well as promoting young talents like Tiago Petarich, However, the defeat to Son Moix has halted the positive momentum the manager had built following the elimination of Manchester City from the Champions League quarter-finals, meaning the European competition will once again be the deciding factor in whether Arbeloa stays at or leaves Real Madrid.