Arbeloa talks Mbappe, Bellingham, Guler, Valverde ahead of Manchester City vs Real Madrid | OneFootball

For the third time this season, Real Madrid and Manchester City will take on each other in the UEFA Champions League tomorrow night at the Etihad Stadium.

The first encounter, in the league phase, saw Manchester City run out 2-1 winners at the Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid exacted revenge on the Cityzens last week, though, beating them 3-0 in the Round-of-16 first leg.

Now, Alvaro Arbeloa & co. will look to ensure that their healthy lead from the first leg does not go to waste as they aim to progress to the quarterfinals.

Talking about the team’s objective and mentality heading into the game at the Etihad, Arbeloa noted:

“The same as the first leg. We have no other objective than to go out and win with the same humility and commitment as in the first leg. Even more so, because it won’t be easy. Humility and ambition are what we need to see tomorrow.”

Discussing the mental preparation aspect, he added: “We are very aware of the difficulty of tomorrow’s match and the opponent we face.

“If we want to win, we can’t have anything else on our minds but to perform at a very high level, like in the first leg or even better, with solidarity, effort and sacrifice, and be able to cause them a lot of problems.”

Regarding the win in the first leg, which was achieved without the team’s top scorer Kylian Mbappe, the manager said:

“It’s hard to imagine a team being competitive without the best player in the world. But that speaks volumes about how well the team is doing.”

Mbappe, though, is available for the game tomorrow, while Jude Bellingham has also been included in the squad. However, Arbeloa confirmed that the midfielder will not play a part.

“Bellingham wanted to come with his teammates, but he won’t be here tomorrow. I’m happy to see him getting closer. He’s going to be one of the leaders, and it’s important that he’s here with us. Mbappe is already available. You’ll see tomorrow,” he said.

On whether Real Madrid can continue playing in their current 4-4-2 setup even after Mbappe returns, he explained:

“Kylian brings different qualities to the team than other players like Brahim, but he also has a great connection with him. He’s a very intelligent player and capable of moving into the spaces created by the opposition. I’m eager to have him on the pitch.”

Arbeloa confirmed that Mbappe is back but no Bellingham. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Under Arbeloa, there has been a marked shift at Real Madrid in terms of utilising players from the youth and reserve sides. On whether he would still continue relying on young prospects even after all his injured players return, the manager said:

“In the two months I’ve been here, I haven’t felt like there are any sacred cows. There are players like Valverde, Vinicius, and Tchouameni who have earned their minutes on the pitch; they aren’t sacred cows.

“What all the youngsters from the academy are doing is performing at a very high level; they’re playing very well, which is what they know how to do. They’re very talented lads who are contributing a lot.

“When some players recover, I’ll have more options, and hopefully, we’ll be able to always field the most suitable eleven players.”

On whether games like these will decide his future at the end of the season, Arbeloa stated:

“It’s the last thing on my mind right now, I don’t think about it, it doesn’t occupy my thoughts. What worries me is that tomorrow’s match continues to excite Real Madrid fans. I’ll be here as long as I need to be and very happy until the very last day.”

Leading up to the match, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola surprised everyone by giving his players a day off and cancelling training today.

“I think he explained it well this morning. It’s nothing new for them,” Arbeloa said on the matter.

“It’s the 987th match Guardiola has managed. I won’t be the one to presume to give him advice. It’s a team that knows each other very well; they play with their eyes closed because they’ve been together for so many years.”

Regarding Federico Valverde and his importance to the team, the Real Madrid boss said:

“Fede can play in any position and he does really well everywhere. He’s at his best and he’s scoring. He has freedom of movement. When Bellingham and Mbappe return, we have to continue with this version of Fede.”

Finally, speaking of Arda Guler and the tactic of using the Turkish prospect to mark Erling Haaland during set-pieces in the first leg, Arbeloa said:

 “The goal against Elche was spectacular. A fantastic goal. And that duel with Haaland… We have to defend against the Norwegian, and the more people the better. But I think Arda did a good job, and we’ll see if we can repeat that tomorrow.”

Source: AS