Arbeloa: “Mbappé has three games to continue demonstrating his commitment to Real Madrid”

The Real Madrid coach, Álvaro Arbeloa, showed this Wednesday his confidence in being able to count on the French striker Kylian Mbappé in the three remaining LaLiga EA Sports games to “continue demonstrating his commitment” to a club that “scores a lot” and whose players must be “aware of the luck” of being part of it; while, on the other hand, he regretted that Dani Carvajal is going to be left out of this summer’s World Cup.

“Let’s see if he can finish the training session to be available and I’m sure he will have minutes and the opportunity to continue demonstrating in these three games the commitment he has to the club,” Arbeloa said at a press conference prior to Thursday’s game against Real Oviedo.

The Madrid coach hopes that the team’s top scorer, despite being alert, can “play these three games” and that he does so by “scoring goals” that demonstrate, he repeated, “the commitment he has to Real Madrid.”

For the man from Salamanca, it is difficult “to believe that a Real Madrid player does not leave everything he has for the club.” “I wouldn’t know where it is. This club is the best in the world, it is fortunate for each and every one of us who are in it every day and who carry this shield on our chest. Those of us who have been away know what it is like to be away from Real Madrid, what this club means and I think my players have to be aware of how lucky and fortunate they are to be at Real Madrid,” he warned.

“They will be remembered all their lives for being Real Madrid players and when they leave football in many years, they will talk about them as former players, former legends of Real Madrid, European champion I don’t know how many times. Real Madrid marks you a lot, gives you many things and there are very important players in its history who have made it very great and have helped it expand its legend,” he said in this regard.

Arbeloa understands “the criticism for any of the decisions” he makes or “for what he may say.” “Many times I say what I think, there are many other times when I say what I should, but in the case of the squad I think it is the way I have to relate to my players. It is not that I have done it only here in the first team, I have also done it in the quarry,” he pointed out.

The Real Madrid coach does not doubt that his role must be to be “a shield in front of his players.” “When I’m with them, I tell them many things that I think I shouldn’t say here, just as they can’t say them to me. The demands we have on each other, always with respect, have been maximum, and the way I express myself with them has also been a demanding way,” he remarked.

“I have pushed them, I have given them my vision as a coach, of the things we have done well, those not so well, of everything we have to improve and everything they have to improve, but I would not change my way of defending my players here in front,” he added in this regard.

The world champion avoided talking about his “future or that of Real Madrid.” “I hope you also respect my decision to think about the Oviedo game, then the Sevilla game and when it happens, I will focus on Athletic Club. And once the League is over I will be able to answer more questions about my future. Right now what we have to do is think about Oviedo,” he tried to settle.

The coach of the merengue team recalled that his “philosophy” since he came to office has been to “never” look “to the future” or think “about what may be the best for Álvaro Arbeloa.” “It has always been the best for Real Madrid and the only way I can face this job from here is to look at the next game,” he reiterated.

REGRETS THAT CARVAJAL CANNOT BE IN THE WORLD CUP

Arbeloa regretted that, according to information, Dani Carvajal will not be in this summer’s World Cup with the Spanish team. “I have not been able to speak with Carvajal. It is a shame, I already said that for me he was a player that I would always want to have on my team because of what he means, because of the experience he has, because of what he can contribute on the field and off it. It is a shame that he cannot be defending the national team,” he highlighted.

The man from Salamanca confirmed that the man from Leganés has already “rejoined the group” and that he will return to “training normally” after his last injury, so he will be “available” for the visit of Oviedo. “As I said a few days ago, I hope he can say goodbye to this season by having minutes and playing,” said the Madrid coach.

He recalled that it is Luis de la Fuente “who decides” his list and that he will always show “support” to his players. “Each coach has his own tastes and what he is looking for for his team is often not that he is a better or worse player but rather that he can best fit his style of play. For my part, I always have the utmost respect for the coach’s decisions in this case,” he clarified.

And at the gates of the World Cup, he hopes that none of his internationals will reserve themselves in these matches. “I have been quite careful, in 95 percent of the cases I have tried not to risk the health of my players, giving them minutes very little by little when they came from injuries when it is easier to do the opposite because, in the end, we coaches have a lot at stake. You always want to have the best on the field, but I will continue to take care of them in these three games,” he warned.

“I would like everyone to have the opportunity to say goodbye to this season by playing and there are many people who have been training and working very well and I would also like them to have the reward of playing, but I do not think it will ever be the case that there will be someone who does not want to play, who does not want to put their foot in or who has more of their mind set on the World Cup than on defending Real Madrid in these three games. For me, in these three games, real footballers have to demonstrate many things,” Arbeloa added.

Finally, regarding the match against Real Oviedo, the penultimate of the season at the Santiago Bernabéu, he insisted on having “responsibility” for what they must “defend” when playing in front of their fans. “We have to know what the demand is, what we must do and, above all, in these three games show that we deserve to wear this shield and that we know what it is and dignify it,” he demanded.