Alvaro Arbeloa spoke to the media after Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Girona on Friday. He was asked about the penalty incident involving Kylian Mbappe, to which he said: “It’s a penalty here and on the moon. And it’s just one more. Another one. It’s what we have, it’s what it is. Neither I nor anyone else understands it. VAR intervenes when it’s convenient, and when it’s not, it doesn’t. I already said it yesterday, and you know my opinion. These events confirm it. It’s a clear foul. Kylian was called
for a foul in the first half that was even less. We’ve had many problems with referees. With this one, in Mallorca… It’s the same old story.”
Arbeloa on the game
“It wasn’t our best performance, but we had to win. With all the chances we created and how little we conceded, plus a strong enough lineup… we should have scored a few more goals. But it wasn’t to be. And we leave with this draw.”
Arbeloa on Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Jr not scoring
“I can’t worry about two players with the stats they have. They’re among the top four or five in the world. We need to improve many things collectively, because we struggle against teams that wait for us. We continue to struggle, and it has more to do with our collective performance than individual performance. Let’s hope things go better on Wednesday.”
Arbeloa on how important this game was for Wednesday
“Let’s focus on Wednesday, where we’ll need to make a huge effort. We’ll analyze what happened last Tuesday, make corrections, and try to strengthen our weaknesses. Wednesday is our game. We must put all our energy into it.”
Arbeloa on why Eduardo Camavinga started over Aurelien Tchouameni
“I wanted to see Eduardo in that position. He already played there against Villarreal; he feels comfortable as a defensive midfielder and it’s the position where he performs best. It was important to see him play there and for him to understand what I want from him. He’s always been a very mobile player, and in that position, perhaps, he needs to position himself differently. It was a good option to start with today.”
Arbeloa on Jude Bellingham
“We’ll see how he is on Wednesday… he’s quite tired now, because it was his first match in a long time. But we’re happy with his performance, with what he brings to the table. It was a positive experience for him.”
Arbeloa on the tough results
“We haven’t won those last few games. And to beat anyone, we need to give 200%. We don’t win at 90%… or not always. If you want to be more confident against teams you’re better than, you have to go all out. Otherwise, these kinds of setbacks can happen too often.”
Arbeloa on fans not believing in the comeback on Wednesday
“I want my team to believe, that’s all I want. And the 25 of us going there will be convinced that we can rise to the occasion. It’s normal that Bayern are seen as favorites, but they’ll be facing white shirts and a round crest. And I’m sure we’ll be up to the challenge.”
Arbeloa on Dani Carvajal
“There are many debates, but I don’t get involved. I’m lucky to have many players in different positions, and competition is good. It makes the players improve their performance. I’m happy with Carvajal. He’s getting better every day, gaining confidence. Growing.”
Arbeloa on whether the league race is over
“No, I’ll only have it the day we lose it. Until that happens, we’ll give our all in every match. This is Real Madrid, and we have to fight until the very last day.”
