Does Arda Guler’s future lie in a midfield role?
Arda Güler has been a key figure for Real Madrid at the Club World Cup in a way few could have predicted for the Turkish youngster.
No Real Madrid player had more touches of the ball in the Club World Cup quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund than Arda Güler. It was the same against Juventus in the previous round when the Turkish international pulled the strings for Xabi Alonso’s team in a role he has surprisingly embraced this summer.
While Güler’s deployment as a central midfielder was initially an emergency measure to combat Real Madrid being reduced to 10 men against Pachuca in the group stage, the 20-year-old has since proved why his skill set lends itself to this area of the pitch. With every passing match, Güler looks more and more like Luka Modrić’s long-term successor.
Alonso’s Real Madrid are a work-in-progress. Los Blancos started their Club World Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw against Al-Hilal that highlighted many of the deficiencies left over from the previous regime. Thibaut Courtois candidly admitted Real Madrid were still playing with “Ancelotti’s automations” as they struggled on both sides of the ball.
Match by match, though, Alonso has moulded Real Madrid in his own image, borrowing many of the ideas that worked so well for him at Bayer Leverkusen. He has, in the main, recycled the 3-4-3 shape that formed the framework of his previous team in the Bundesliga, pushing Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fran García high and wide as wing backs.
Aurélien Tchouaméni has been dropped into the defensive line while Dean Huijsen has been emboldened to make line-breaking passes out from the back. Fede Valverde is being harnessed as a box-to-box number eighth with Gonzalo García enjoying a breakthrough summer as the penalty box presence Real Madrid have lacked since the departure of Joselu.
However, no Real Madrid player’s career has been altered so dramatically since the arrival of Alonso like Güler’s. Last season, he was a peripheral figure, starting just 14 games in LaLiga and one in the Champions League. Now, Güler appears to be a central pillar of the team Alonso is building in his own image.
To truly be the rhythm-building central midfielder Real Madrid need after the end of the Toni Kroos-Modrić age, Güler will have to sharpen his defensive instincts. He will also have to add some physicality to his game to operate at the base of Alonso’s midfield in the long-term. He’s not the complete package just yet.
“Try to anticipate rather than be reactive,” said Alonso when asked how Güler can improve. “If the position is better, you get to the duel sooner and you don’t have to beat them physically. We know Arda will make mistakes during this learning process, but he’ll also do good thinks.
“It’s also a time to invest in a process, in Arda’s development. He’s doing well, and we keep pushing him. We want him gain experience, mature, and be able to make mistakes. Let him accept them because they’re part of his development if we want to have a strong Arda in that area.”
In Alonso, Güler couldn’t hope for a better mentor. The Real Madrid manager was one of the best pace-setting midfielders of his generation. He knows what it takes to succeed in the position and so there’s good reason to believe Güler will continue to grow as he gets used to the role he’s being asked to perform.
Of course, the true gauge of Güler as Modrić’s replacement will come next season when Real Madrid will be expected to fight on all fronts for silverware. Barcelona set a new standard at the top of LaLiga last season while Paris Saint-Germain looked unbeatable as they won the Champions League.
This adds another layer of intrigue to Wednesday’s meeting with the European champions in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup. The match will be a useful gauge for Real Madrid to judge how much closer they are to the Champions League winner after a summer of change. Can Alonso’s team impose themselves on an opponent with as clear an identity as PSG?
Güler won’t have faced a threat in central midfield like the one PSG will pose. The trio of João Neves, Fabián Ruiz and Vitinha compromise the best midfield unit in the game at this moment in time and so Güler will have to do just as much against the ball as he will on it. The 20-year-old will have to play his best game simply not to be overwhelmed.
Talent has never been an issue for Güler. Nicknamed ‘The Turkish Messi’ from a young age, he has been tipped for the top since becoming a first team figure for Fenerbahçe at the age of only 16. It’s only now, however, that Güler’s purpose as a Real Madrid player has become clear. Alonso was the first to see it.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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