Against Juventus, Xabi Alonso decided to remove Güler with the match undecided. It was the first time that the young midfielder left the field with the crowd engaged. It may be that the Bernabéu showed its enthusiasm in the first days, with Ancelotti, when he arrived and everything was promises. But it was last Wednesday when the admiration of the Madrid public came for what he did on the fieldnot because of what he was expected to do. It was a unanimous and thunderous recognition, at the level of the importance that Xabi Alonso is giving him at this start of the season. when he left laughsalready on the sideline, hugged the coach and greeted all the members of the bench one by one. At the back, two police officers were sitting, making sure that the public does not disturb the players. Güler shook hands with the first and waited for the second, who also shocked him, although he could not hide his surprise.
Sixth player in minutes
That gesture sums up the moment of Burn Güler, is already someone at Real Madrid: for what he produces on the field, for how he interprets games, for how he plays the team’s game when the ball passes through his boots and for how he reads what Mbappé is doing better than the rest. He has gone from being a promise that did not convince Ancelotti and that did not find his place either on the field or off, as the Italian coach dropped, to become the sixth player with the most minutes this season, after finishing fifteenth last year.
Xabi Alonso has entrusted him with a role that is reserved for the most senior footballers: commanding the team from the center of the field. «I feel very important. I thank Xabi, who trusts me. He asks me to control time, to be creative. I can do both roles, if you want me to score or assist I can be number 10, but as number 8 I also feel good,” said Güler after his great game against Juve. Xabi Alonso has tested him in several areas, but the position that makes the most sense for the team is next to Tchouaméni, where Arda can act as a axis and at the same time let himself be carried away by his instinct. Against Juve he stole ten balls, a fact that describes his involvement and route. «Arda is in the process of improving everything. He is 20 years old. With his age and quality, we must accompany him. He has to improve his decision making and his pressure, but he has many good things. “It gives a lot of meaning to our game,” explains Xabi, the model midfielder, the best teacher Arda could have.
Order to the team
Its presence there, furthermore, orders, or should order, the rest. Bellingham, for example, can move into more decisive areas and avoid the wear and tear of going down to build. With Güler, the Englishman should feel less obliged to cover the entire field and focus on doing damage near the area. That small tactical reconfiguration could push Valverde to the right wing, if Dani Carvajal arrives in time to start in the Clásico. A move that has already been tested before and that strengthens the team in the middle of the field, where it lost the Classics last year.
Tomorrow’s match is, as always, more than a LaLiga match but, unlike usual, it is also more than a Clásico for Real Madrid. Last year there were four defeats and in all of them, they scored at least three goals. There is an air of revenge, now multiplied by the words of Lamine Yamal. Güler participated in two of the four duels. He was only a starter in one, the last one, at the Camp Nou, which ended 4-3. He was substituted at half-time. In the Copa del Rey final, he came on in the 55th minute, when Real Madrid began to improve. He did not have minutes in either the LaLiga duel at the Santiago Bernabéu or the Super Cup. He was, then, a supporting actor. Today is something else. Now it is, or has to be, the compass of the teamo.
Fixed in the middle
If Tchouameni is permanent, the other position could be for Camavinga, for Dani Ceballos, who seems to be ready, or for Fede Valverde, who is the one who has played the most in that area along with the Frenchman. However, for the first time this season there is no debate. «I am very happy with his progression, but we want even more. He wants to look for the pass, take the free-kick, take the shot… Wirtz at Bayer Leverkusen was like that. He is young, but he is a great player, he is in the process, but at a high level,” said Xabi Alonso about Güler.
The technician finishes the drawing, clearing up doubts. Arda, as a midfielder, is already a certainty.
