Turkish youngster Arda Guler is undoubtedly a brilliant talent but much has been made about his lack of game time so far in his debut season at Real Madrid. It's something even rival players have commented on.
Indeed, when Turkiye met Hungary during the most recent international break, Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai clashed with the 20-year-old. As a result, after the game, he aimed a dig at Guler online, simply writing: "1088."
This figure represented the limited number of minutes the midfielder had played for Madrid up to that point in the season. Perhaps aware of the conflict, and conscious of his players' lack of game time, Carlo Ancelotti opted to give Guler his first La Liga start of 2025 against Leganes over the weekend.
Arda Guler Related
Arda Guler Hits Back at Dominik Szoboszlai's Brutal '1088' Insult
The war of the words continues between the pair
Guler Impresses vs Leganes
Four key passes, two big chances created
Up to this stage in the season, Guler has started only one Champions League match and his last La Liga start came against Rayo Vallecano in December 2024. He did well on that day, picking up two assists, but the game ended in a 3-3 – this may be why he's not started again in the league since.
Making his 11th start of the season, out of 31 appearances, the youngster caught the eye once more. While he did not add to his three goals or five assists, he looked busy on the day as Madrid won 3-2.
Just after the half-hour mark, Guler made a good run into the box and did well to draw enough contact to win a penalty. Kylian Mbappe finished the penalty with a clever panenka. Leganes would hit back, however, with two goals in quick succession to take the lead before half-time.
Jude Bellingham would level the scores shortly after the break. Guler then would be subbed off after 62 minutes, with Mbappe grabbing the winner with a fine free-kick – although the away team would feel upset with the foul leading to the winner.
Arda Guler stats vs Leganes
The Turkish starlet completed the game with four key passes (the second-best on the pitch), two big chances created (the best on the pitch), managed 5/5 attempted long balls, and completed 43/46 passes completed (93%), losing the ball just seven times – showing how tidy and effective he was on the ball.
Ancelotti will always be pleased with his work-rate as he won the penalty but also satisfied with his efforts to end the match with 3/3 duels won, two tackles and one interception. This was enough to help earn an 8.4 rating – only bettered by Bellingham and Mbappe.
Fans Praise Guler
"Szoboszlai could never"
One fan who also looked at his stats after the impressive display was blown away, writing: "Guler got an 8.4 without any G/A. Insane talent."
Another said: "Arda is very talented. Hopefully, he will keep getting more minutes." A third wrote: "Amazing performance." Someone else chimed in with: "Diamond."
Others seemed to think his recent efforts prove he deserves more game time, saying: "He had a very good game. Ancelotti needs to give him minutes on consistent level he deserves that."
And: "Wrong coach he got but he is [Mesut] Ozil." One even referenced the recent online spat, saying: "Szoboszlai could never."
It certainly was a good day at the office for Guler, and it will be interesting to see if he gets more opportunities in the coming weeks.
Stats via SofaScore - as of 30/03/25