Güler shines as the undroppable gem in Madrid's midfield muddle
The Turkish maestro is making himself undroppable at Real Madrid, even with Bellingham's return on the horizon, as Los Blancos struggle for midfield creativity.
The Turkish wonderkid is rapidly becoming Madrid’s creative heartbeat, with even Jude Bellingham struggling to justify displacing him when he returns from injury.
After that proper dog’s dinner against Rayo, it was nailed on that Camavinga and Valverde would shift into central midfield. When you splash the cash on players like that, you expect them to deliver, and Arbeloa’s clearly been taking notes.
Madrid’s midfield malaise
Unfortunately, as predictable as a rainy Bank Holiday, neither the Frenchman nor the Uruguayan provided the creative spark Madrid desperately needed. Against a Valencia side happy to park the bus with their 5-4-1, the first half was about as exciting as watching paint dry.
The Whites’ football remains grey, flat, and downright miserable. There’s no sign of improvement anywhere. They’re playing like civil servants on a go-slow:
- Passes played at walking pace
- Nobody making runs off the ball
- Shocking lack of dynamism from physically gifted players like Tchouaméni, Camavinga and Valverde
- Only Mbappé showing any movement without the ball
- Second balls? Forget about it - they’re never winning those
It’s not physical limitations - it’s attitude. Or rather, a lack of it.
The Turkish delight
Things only started looking up around the half-hour mark when Güler, the only pure talent in central areas, began pulling the strings from his number 10 position and linking up with Mbappé.
Bellingham’s injury absence might be a blessing in disguise for the team. When he shares the pitch with the Turkish star, jealousy seems to kick in - Jude tries to flex his seniority, overshadowing Güler and hogging the spotlight without actually producing much positive. That’s been the pattern for at least the last two seasons.
In Arbeloa’s Madrid, status trumps merit, but the facts speak for themselves: Güler was once again the only player (alongside Mbappé) who showed anything above average. Right now, Arda is undroppable in midfield - and should remain so even when Bellingham returns.