{"id":2087,"date":"2026-05-15T13:45:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T05:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/?p=2087"},"modified":"2026-05-15T13:45:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T05:45:27","slug":"i-dont-have-four-forwards-nor-did-i-say-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/15\/i-dont-have-four-forwards-nor-did-i-say-that\/","title":{"rendered":"“I don’t have four forwards, nor did I say that”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa dismissed Mbappe’s claims following their 2-0 win over Oviedo. The Frenchman alleged the coach told him he was the fourth-choice forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mbappe’s remarks after Real Madrid’s 2-0 victory over Oviedo became the centre of attention during the post-match press conference at the Santiago Bernabeu. Alvaro Arbeloa, entering the room composed, appeared taken aback when questioned about the French forward’s comments. Mbappe had alleged that the coach referred to him as “the fourth-choice forward” in the squad, which he claimed explained his omission from the starting XI. Arbeloa categorically denied the accusation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I would love to have four forwards. Honestly, I don\u2019t know where this is coming from because I don\u2019t have four forwards, nor did I say that. He must have misunderstood. I never told him he was the fourth-choice forward,” the coach stated firmly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If I don\u2019t select him, he doesn\u2019t play\u2014it\u2019s as simple as that. I\u2019m the coach, and I make the decisions. Four days ago, he wasn\u2019t even fit enough for the bench (in the ‘Clasico’), and today\u2019s match wasn\u2019t a final. He will be the first-choice forward, as I\u2019ve already said. I have no issues with anyone. I understand that players who don\u2019t feature aren\u2019t happy, but my decisions are based on the circumstances. It was the most logical and prudent choice not to take risks, especially with another game in three days,” Arbeloa explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When pressed further, Arbeloa reiterated there was no rift with the player: “I decided he wouldn\u2019t play because, just four days ago, he wasn\u2019t fit enough to be on the bench. Gonzalo earned his chance to play. As long as I\u2019m in charge, I will decide who plays, regardless of their name. Names don\u2019t influence my decisions. If people agree, that\u2019s fine. If not, they\u2019ll have to wait for the next opportunity,” he stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This isn\u2019t something unique to Kylian; it has happened with other players too. It\u2019s all down to the circumstances. I\u2019m completely at ease and have a clear conscience. I\u2019m not bothered if people disagree with my choices,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, addressing the boos aimed at Vinicius, Arbeloa brought Mbappe into the conversation, reassuring that the club “has faith in them” and that, in time, “the applause will return.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa dismissed Mbappe&#8217 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2087"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2089,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087\/revisions\/2089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}