The turning point for former Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso was broadcast live on television, as Vinicius Junior openly questioned his authority in front of the Bernabeu in the biggest game of all in El Clasico. Although the repercussions are unlikely to be of similar size, Alvaro Arbeloa experienced his first incident of a similar nature on Wednesday night at the Estadio da Luz.
Los Blancos fell to a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Jose Mourinho’s Benfica, with Real Madrid seeing two players sent off, and dropping out of the top eight of the Champions League, and into the play-off round. After the match, Arbeloa took responsibility for the defeat, but stood by his statements that he did not want Vinicius Junior or Kylian Mbappe tiring themselves out defending.
Arda Guler furious with Arbeloa substitution
With 12 minutes to go though, Arda Guler was furious to be the attacking player to be replaced by Brahim Diaz. As he walked back to the bench, the Turkish star was seen shouting across the pitch ‘always me, always me’. He clearly did not agree with Arbeloa’s decision, but it was not brought up to the Real Madrid manager after the match.
Vinicius isn’t the only one who doesn’t enjoy being subbed. More context below👇 #RealMadrid #ardaguler pic.twitter.com/E8opTi1FAI
— Football España (@footballespana_) January 29, 2026
Arbeloa was asked about Ceballos snub
One change that did raise eyebrows was the late introduction of Castilla midfielder Jorge Cestero, who was put on ahead of Dani Ceballos. Arbeloa explained that he felt Cestero could protect the side in front of the defence better.
Is Arda Guler right?
Guler has played a total of 33 matches fro Real Madrid this season, of which 25 have been starts. Out of those starts, Guler has completed just five matches, suggesting he is a favoured substitute for both Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa. Interestingly, the latter noted before the match that Guler ‘always finishes matches exhausted because of his defensive effort’.
