Former Madridista Quique Sánchez Flores reckons Arbeloa has a Carvajal-sized headache
Quique Sánchez Flores offers blunt advice on handling the Carvajal situation and warns of a 'long shadow' threatening Real Madrid's playing style.
Former Real Madrid player Quique Sánchez Flores has offered some proper home truths about the current state of affairs at the Bernabéu, focusing particularly on the awkward situation developing between manager Álvaro Arbeloa and veteran right-back Dani Carvajal.
Communication breakdown with Carvajal
Speaking on ‘El Partidazo de COPE’, the 61-year-old manager identified the root of the Carvajal problem as communication rather than footballing ability.
“The only thing that would really worry me is if there hasn’t been dialogue between the coach and the player,” Quique explained, noting that lack of communication inevitably breeds conflict.
Carvajal, now 34, has barely featured despite being named in the squad for the last 10 matches since recovering from injury. With the World Cup on the horizon – likely his last chance at the tournament – the defender’s frustration is understandable.
The drastic solution
Quique’s proposed fix for the situation is brutally straightforward: if Arbeloa doesn’t plan to play Carvajal, he shouldn’t include him in the squad at all.
He points out that Carvajal has been a nailed-on starter throughout his Madrid career and simply isn’t accustomed to warming the bench. The experienced coach suggests Carvajal needs to be patient and focus on completing his recovery properly.
Madrid’s playing style concerns
Beyond the Carvajal situation, Quique has identified deeper issues with Madrid’s current playing style, describing it as an “encrypted message that isn’t reaching the players.”
His assessment pulls no punches:
- The team still isn’t generating proper football
- There’s an over-reliance on individual brilliance (Courtois, Mbappé)
- Madrid lack a collective game plan
- The team struggles significantly with playing out from the back
This last point is what Quique describes as the “very long shadow” threatening Madrid’s game. He specifically highlights the difficulties when Tchouaméni, Camavinga or Valverde have to drop deep to collect the first pass.
It’s not all doom and gloom though – Quique does see “green shoots” in Arbeloa’s Madrid, particularly when attacking midfielders like Bellingham, Güler and Brahim link up together.
For a club with Madrid’s ambitions, sorting these issues sharpish will be proper important if they want to avoid a right old barney in the trophy cabinet come season’s end.