€45m Real Madrid gem’s role and effectiveness undergoing a gradual decline

Arda Guler was one of the most decisive players for Real Madrid in the last stretch of the 2023-24 season. The Turk scored five goals in five games in the latter parts of the last season after having to sit a significant time out due to different injuries for the most part of the year after arriving at the Merengue club.

Owing to these performances, there were several clubs interested in signing him last summer, including Mourinho’s Fenerbahce, but he decided to remain and grow at Real Madrid, especially as Los Blancos believed he could take the next step forward this season.

This year, he has not been hampered by injuries as was the case last season, but still, as MARCA has noted, he has not been able to get as many minutes as he was expected to at the start of the season.

He has started three games up to now, but the last one that he started was the one against Espanyol, and he only played for 55 minutes in that game. Then against Alaves, he only played for ten minutes and did not even step on the pitch in the last game against Atletico Madrid as Ancelotti decided to bring in more defenders to maintain his side’s slender lead.

In total, Guler has played 257 minutes in eight matches this season, which adds up to slightly less than three games in total. He has also lost the effectiveness that he showed last season, as he still is to score a goal or give an assist in this campaign.

Real Madrid and Ancelotti both understand that it is still too early to draw any conclusions from this state of affairs, and the €45 million-rated Turk can still show his magic in the days and weeks to come. However, one area of doubt that remains about him is the position that he should get on the pitch, as there is high competition both in the attack and the midfield.