Alvaro Arbeloa benches Real Madrid player after fiery clash – ‘Anybody have something to say?’

Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa has been credited with easing tensions in the dressing room over the last three months since taking over from Xabi Alonso. Generally, it seems the coexistence at Valdebebas has improved, but in one particular case, Arbeloa appears to have fallen out with one of his players.

Coming into the month of March, defender Raul Asencio was one of Real Madrid’s most consistent players, despite playing through a potential injury at the time. The 23-year-old has missed Real Madrid’s last six games though, supposedly with muscle discomfort. Yet Marca have now revealed that it was in fact due to a falling out with Arbeloa, and he has been training as normal for the past month.

Asencio fumes at Arbeloa choice

The beginning of the issue was ahead of the first leg against Manchester City, when Asencio was in-form, but dropped for Dean Huijsen. The Canary Islander felt that he deserved to play after battling through physical problems against Celta Vigo four days earlier. Then ahead of a 4-1 win over Elche between victories over City, Asencio arrived in Arbeloa’s office with a doctor alleging at the last minute that he could not play due to injury. Due to start, Arbeloa had to call on Antonio Rudiger instead, who was struggling for fitness himself – the German defender was not at all happy himself, due to the meticulous preparation he carries out for matches if he is due to play.

Arbeloa exiles Asencio

The incident did not go down well with Arbeloa, who subsequently left Asencio not only out of the City squad the following week for the second leg, but again for the Madrid derby. He saw as an issue of dressing room discipline, and before a training session, Arbeloa asked ‘does anyone have anything to say?’

Asencio kept his gaze low and did not respond, hence his absence from the derby squad. During the international break, Asencio did finally apologise to his teammates, and as such, returned to the Real Madrid squad against RCD Mallorca on Saturday.

Now with Eder Militao also back from injury, Asencio has a tough job to work his way back into the line-up. Behind Huijsen, Rudiger and Militao in the pecking order, although as Los Blancos rest for their Champions League second leg against Bayern Munich, he could return to action against Girona this Friday.

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