Madrid are lucky to have improving Alexander-Arnold, says Arbeloa

Real Madrid are fortunate to be able to call upon Trent Alexander-Arnold, says Alvaro Arbeloa, who always expected the former Liverpool man to come good in Spain.

Alexander-Arnold has not had things all his own way since joining Madrid on a free transfer, only making 10 appearances – and six starts – in LaLiga.

But he registered his second assist in Spain’s top flight on Saturday as Madrid beat Real Sociedad 4-1, whipping a delightful pass in behind the visitors’ backline for Gonzalo Garcia to score the opening goal.

And with the fixtures coming thick and fast for Los Blancos, starting with Tuesday’s trip to Benfica in the Champions League play-offs, Arbeloa intends to get Alexander-Arnold more heavily involved.

“I can’t say I’m surprised. He is a very intelligent boy, who understands the game very well and quickly understands what we want from him,” Arbeloa said of Alexander-Arnold’s display.

“He is not the typical full-back who will always be wide, but he can also play inside. For us, we are lucky to have a player like that.

“Having Gonzalo in the area, he could look for crossing situations. He’s a great player, I’m not going to discover him now.

“I’m happy that he continues to get more minutes, get into a rhythm and find the best version of himself.”

Vinicius Junior was another impressive performer for Madrid, as he won and scored two penalties, both of which were conceded by Jon Aramburu.

Vinicius is the first player to win and score multiple penalties in a LaLiga match since October 2015, when Neymar did so for Barcelona against Rayo Vallecano.

“I’ve been watching a great version of Vinicius for a month, not just this game. He has been playing games of a very high level, unbalancing opponents,” Arbeloa said of the Brazilian.

“For me, he is a player who goes beyond numbers, who is capable of conditioning matches. He’s a guy with a big heart and a great team-mate. It’s lucky to have him.”

Madrid did not call upon Kylian Mbappe, who was an unused substitute after experiencing discomfort.

But Arbeloa expects the Frenchman to be involved against Benfica, who beat Madrid 4-2 to advance from the Champions League’s league stage last month, with goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scoring a dramatic stoppage-time header.

Arbeloa said: “Mbappe has been with this discomfort for quite some time. He is making a great effort every time he goes out on the pitch and today, we decided not to take risks for Tuesday. I think he will be there.

“I hope that history will not repeat itself. We are prepared for what awaits us there on Tuesday. It is a 180-minute tie. We have to go out to play a great game and win.”