Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior have become a completely untouchable attacking duo under Álvaro Arbeloa, who has given them every available minute since his arrival. In the six official matches he has overseen as first-team coach—across LaLiga, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey—the Salamanca-born manager has rotated the squad, made adjustments, and tried different setups, but he has not even considered taking his two main attacking stars off the pitch. The Frenchman and the Brazilian are playing everything, something that did not happen during Xabi Alonso’s brief spell on the Madrid bench.
Arbeloa made his debut on January 14 with a painful setback at the Carlos Belmonte (3–2) in the Copa del Rey round of 16. That day, Mbappé did not travel to Albacete due to discomfort in his left knee, while Vinicius did play. At his own request, the Brazilian completed the full match, just days after the painful 3–2 defeat to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia.
From that ill-fated night in La Mancha onward, the French forward has not missed a single minute on the pitch—just like his now inseparable attacking partner, Vinicius. Both completed the LaLiga matches against Levante, Villarreal, and Rayo Vallecano, as well as the Champions League games against Monaco and Benfica. Mbappé scored eight goals in those matches, three from the penalty spot, while Vini added two.
After the recent 0–2 win at La Cerámica, Arbeloa praised the partnership between Mbappé and Vinicius:
“They are the two best players in the world. Two incredibly decisive players. The more they touch the ball, the better. Vini receiving wide and Mbappé attacking the space. They are fully committed to the team—they’re the first to press, to drop in with the midfielders, and to show effort and solidarity.”
On the eve of last weekend’s derby against Rayo Vallecano at the Bernabéu, Arbeloa was asked whether there were any untouchable players. His answer was clear in defense of his stars:
“I want the best players on the pitch. The more minutes they can play, the better. They can decide a match at any moment. There will be people who aren’t Madrid fans and don’t want them on the field. Vinicius, Mbappé, Bellingham, and Valverde are probably among the top ten players in the world, and they have my full trust.”
Under Xabi Alonso, the player who suffered the most was the Brazilian attacker, with whom the coach had several clashes. Although Vinicius started 23 of the 27 matches played under the Basque manager, he only completed eight games. He was benched four times and substituted no fewer than fifteen, most often between the 70th and 83rd minutes.
Vinicius Clashes with Xabi Alonso
The most controversial substitution involving Vinicius came in the LaLiga Clásico at the Bernabéu on October 26 (2–1). The situation boiled over when the Brazilian was taken off in the 72nd minute for his compatriot Rodrygo, reacting with visible gestures of anger. In the aftermath, a large section of the Madrid fanbase felt the club failed to publicly back its coach, leaving Alonso’s authority within the dressing room seriously weakened.
Xabi Alonso also dared to substitute Mbappé. The Frenchman was taken off in nine of the 25 matches he played (24 as a starter) under the Basque coach, always between the 78th and 90th minutes. By contrast, he completed 15 matches and came off the bench just once—