Real Madrid – Mallorca: Xabi Alonso profits from his investment in Arda Guler

30/08/2025 07:35:00 SportScoop

Together with Kylian Mbappe’s goals, Arda Guler has been a bright spot that helped Real Madrid begin the 2025-26 La Liga campaign with a flawless 6 points.

Arda Guler is portrayed as Xabi Alonso’s “investment” in a situation where midfielders are lacking due to injuries to key players and no reinforcements. The new Real Madrid head coach urges patience for the young Turkish player to mature.

Alonso’s Investment

Xabi Alonso often uses a familiar startup term when asked about Arda Guler: “Investment.” After the win against Osasuna in the opening round of La Liga 2025-26, he explained: “We have to keep pushing, investing playing minutes in Arda so he can become an important player. He is doing that.” Without the desired new midfield signings and with a clear gap exposed at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, Xabi had to explore the option of Guler.

The Basque coach is aware that this process, if successful, requires time. So far, Alonso remains patient: in 8 official matches since replacing Carlo Ancelotti, the 20-year-old has only not started in the first game against Al Hilal at the Club World Cup. Alonso—who still prefers to keep some tactics confidential—has repeatedly emphasized that Guler is still an apprentice in midfield and calls for tolerance and patience with the Turkish player.

“This is the time to invest in Arda’s progress. We push him to gain experience, grow, and we must accept that he might make mistakes. That should be seen as part of the development process if we want a truly important Guler,” he said in the US. The young midfielder faces a new scenario in his third season at Bernabeu, with many uncertainties: frequently starting and sometimes playing near the build-up area. After two years under Carlo Ancelotti—who only gave him chances late on—Alonso is now experimenting and simultaneously protecting his player by urging caution.

Luka Modric’s departure opened a spot for Guler, who was signed for 25 million euros. Without Modric, even at nearly 40 years old, the shortage of creative midfielders at Madrid became more apparent. A year ago, coach Ancelotti requested reinforcements in this area and even considered Adrien Rabiot, his former PSG player from the 2012-13 season, late in the transfer window, but the deal fell through.

Xabi also noticed the fragility in the midfield. This was one of the reasons he hesitated before accepting the Real Madrid job just before the Club World Cup. The club never fulfilled his wish to add quality midfielders, before or after the tournament in the US, so he had to bet on Guler. Previously, Ancelotti favored Dani Ceballos—who sometimes eased midfield worries—but recurring injuries sidelined him. Now, Ceballos is only the last option in midfield.

Guler is performing impressively in the midfield role

Returns

What Xabi Alonso applies to Arda involves both ends of the pitch. Offensively, he positions him deeper to initiate play, a role rarely seen at Madrid until late last season. This is a sensitive task as it carries the responsibility of overall organization. In other matches, like against Osasuna and Oviedo, Guler plays higher, closer to the penalty area—a position probably more natural for him—to provide key passes and finish. There, he delivered a beautiful assist for Mbappe to open the scoring against Oviedo (in that match, he completed 94% of passes (61/65) and created 8 chances;

In both roles, his small stature is a disadvantage in duels. “The formula is reading situations earlier rather than just reacting. That’s the process Arda must go through,” Xabi said. The concern arises when facing high pressing teams—like PSG or Barcelona, styles that troubled Real Madrid last season. His fitness is also not fully developed: in 63 appearances for the white shirt, he has only played the full 90 minutes 6 times.

Beyond attack, Alonso recognizes his pupil’s progress and especially highlights his dedication in defense. “Since we arrived, Arda has improved. Not only in his technical qualities, which were already evident, but also in understanding his role, maintaining stability, control, and connection. He also has some good pressing moments, winning the ball back and helping us continue attacking,” praised “Professor” Xabi. Against Osasuna, Guler was the second-highest ball winner for Real Madrid from midfield upwards (3 times), only behind Brahim (4).

Until last spring, when given opportunities, Guler mostly played as a right-sided attacker. That flank now features another young name: Franco Mastantuono, who performed well against Oviedo. Due to limited personnel, Guler is now pulled back to utilize his left foot in central midfield. Returns are coming match by match, but Alonso wants even more.

Ngoc Linh

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