Xabi Alonso compares Real Madrid star Arda Güler to two Blancos icons | OneFootball

Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso has this week revealed his take that Arda Güler’s talents make him comparable to a pair of former Blancos stars.

The pair in question? Mesut Özil, and Guti.

Youngster Arda is for his part fresh off another fine performance this past weekend.

Introduced off the bench as Real Madrid searched for a much-needed winner in a La Liga meeting with Getafe, the Turk laid on a fine assist for Kylian Mbappé to notch the game’s only goal.

As much kept alive what has been a brilliant start to the campaign on Arda’s part in 2025/26.

The 20-year-old, despite his tender years, is now considered one of the first names on the team sheet in Spain’s capital, hailed for his touch, vision, football brain and creativity alike.

With such abilities have come inevitable comparisons with Blancos stars of years gone by, chiefly Mesut Özil.

Drawn on as much during his latest pre-match press conference on Tuesday, though, Xabi Alonso also raised the name of another icon at the Santiago Bernabéu:

“Does Arda Güler remind me of Özil? Not just because of the place he came from. He is a mix between Özil and Guti. Guti had that quality in creating play and in the final pass, and Mesut too. I enjoyed playing with Özil a lot. The more we found Arda in the game, the more our level improved. We need to keep pushing him forward. We are very happy with him.”

Conor Laird – GSFN