Arda Güler, now decisive for Real Madrid, "needed to bide his time on the bench", says Ancelotti

Arda Güler is one of Real Madrid's best promises for the future. However, the Turkish midfielder hasn't had much time to develop in the two seasons he's played at Real Madrid, barely appearing in the starting line up, like Endrick, mucho to the despair of Real Madrid fans who want to see some new blood on the team. However, his impact in recent weeks has been tremendous, and he is one of the people responsible that Madrid still has options in league.

The 20-year-old has scored in the latest two Liga games for Madrid: a 1-0 win over Getafe, and a 3-2 win over Celta de Vigo last Sunday, scoring the opener and assisting Mbappé in the third goal. This time, he earned Carlo Ancelotti's praise:

"It's clear that the Güler from September is not the Güler of today, he has changed a lot. His physical profile has also changed, he is much stronger and he still has the same quality. It has been a quite normal and natural progression for a young player at Real Madrid", the Italian coach said.

Could Güler had developed faster if he had been given more time on the pitch? That's a question we will never know the answer for, but many pundits are now thinking that Güler's performance has proved Ancelotti wrong, and the soon-former "los Blancos" manager has got a lot of blame for not giving enough chances to the younger players.

However, Ancelotti is convinced that Arda had to "eat bench", as we say in Spain. "The history of Real Madrid says that you have to bide your time on the bench to be an undisputed starter at Real Madrid. Arda did very well last year, is doing better this year and will do better next year. The bench has been good for him, it hasn't bothered him".

But will it be enough for Ancelotti to trust him to the starting line up against Barcelona next Sunday, a match that is absolutely decisive for Madrid? "He can always play. He's going to compete to be in the starting eleven. There's no doubt about that".