Gabriel Arias makes a bold choice amid criticism over poor form | OneFootball

In the seven years he has been at the club, Gabriel Arias has become an icon in Racing’s recent history. He has lifted six trophies with the institution, was fundamental in countless matches, and, since the departure of Leonardo Sigali, has become the club’s captain. However, his performance in recent games has not been the best, which has sparked criticism from several fans of La Academia. Due to the insults he and his family were receiving on social media, he decided to close his Instagram account.

Arias’ last few matches defending Racing’s goal have been poor, both in terms of numbers and his individual performance. He conceded 11 goals in five games and was responsible for several of them. In the first leg against Peñarol in the Copa Libertadores round of 16, he reacted late and failed to stop David Terans, who scored the only goal of the match with a header.

In the first goal by Argentinos Juniors, he let a seemingly easy ball slip after a slight contact with Santiago Sosa, and as he tried to swat it away, he left it served up for Alan Lescano. Against Unión, he came out poorly to intercept a corner, and the ball fell perfectly for Marcelo Estigarribia to score the temporary equalizer. In the second half, he unsuccessfully left his area to stop an attack from Agustín Colazo on the right side, and Augusto Solari scored the third for Tatengue with the goal at his mercy.

To make matters worse, in recent days a supposed altercation with Gustavo Costas surfaced, which allegedly began when the coach decided to substitute him before a potential penalty shootout against Peñarol—a situation that ultimately didn’t occur due to Franco Pardo’s last-minute goal. That night, the Neuquén native left the field visibly annoyed, as he had been the team’s standout player and was confident about the shootout, even though the stats didn’t support him.

Through a post on its social media, Racing made sure to deny this dispute, and with their statements, both made it clear that everything was fine. “Fighting with Gustavo would be like fighting with Racing. And I would never do that in my life,” the goalkeeper explained after the defeat against Unión.

The coach, in a recent interview with TyC Sports, put to rest any suspicion of a conflict. “With Gabi, I have a relationship that goes beyond coach and player.” And regarding what happened against Carbonero, he asserted: “I wouldn’t make that change, but I asked the goalkeeping coaches how I should go about substituting him for another, and they all told me not to tell him because it would be on his mind. I apologized and explained it to him. He’s the one who’s won the most, he’s an example. I have a great relationship with him.”

Even so, Costas is aware that Arias is not at his best, and when asked who would be the starting goalkeeper in next Friday’s derby against San Lorenzo, he left the door open with a “we’ll see.”

With just over 24 hours to go before the match at the Cilindro de Avellaneda, starting at 7 p.m., Facundo Cambeses appears to be winning the battle over his colleague. It’s worth noting that the former Banfield keeper played a few matches in the Torneo Clausura and Copa Argentina due to the tear Arias suffered, and performed well. If he does well against El Ciclón, he could keep the starting spot for the Copa Libertadores series against Vélez, which begins next Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the José Amalfitani.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.