In the wake of the Mallorca disaster, Arbeloa was quick to fall on his sword, stating: "This defeat is mine, entirely and absolutely mine. What I need from the players is for them to already be thinking about Tuesday's game. When they leave the locker room, this game is already over for them. I'm the one who makes the decisions, the one who picks the lineup, the one who makes the substitutions, the one who chooses how we have to play, and this defeat belongs entirely to the Real Madrid coach."
However, despite claiming full responsibility, the coach also aimed a thinly veiled critique at Eduardo Camavinga for defensive lapses. Discussing the match-winner, he noted: "In a mismatch they have scored a goal against us. Here we get distracted for a moment, we didn't adjust well, we lost a mark, we didn't follow it and it cost you a goal."