No one can argue that Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane does not make decisions. And this summer the Frenchman had to make three big ones in terms of his playing squad.
Three players were let go in the summer, perhaps unexpectedly considering their quality. But time has shown Zidane to have made the right choice to decide to continue without Dani Ceballos, James Rodriguez or Gareth Bale.
Dani Ceballos has excellent technical skills and Mikel Arteta wanted him to dictate the tempo of his Arsenal side. But the Gunners experienced a rocky start to the season. And the 24-year-old Spaniard was unable to guide them to safety. Interestingly, the reaction of Arsenal came on Saturday in a 3-1 victory over Chelsea, with Ceballos an unused substitute. Curiously,
Arsenal’s reaction came on Saturday in a 3-1 win over Chelsea, with Ceballos an unused substitute. If Arteta sticks to his newfound winning formula then Ceballos could have his work cut out to get back in his plan. This won’t help him work his way into Zidane’s thoughts for next season either.
In dramatic fashion, James Rodriguez welcomed himself to the Premier League. He could have needed no better figure than Carlo Ancelotti to take him under his wing. He gave him his confidence back and the Colombian replied with goals and assists. Everton were flying high in the early part of the campaign.
Nevertheless, in recent weeks, James has seen a dip in shape, matching his national team with poor results. And has been dealing with injuries that he has not quite get over. The Welshman, Bale came injured at Spurs and that already caused suspicions to emerge.
Fears that proved to be well-founded as Bale was unable to make himself a regular on the side of Jose Mourinho. Bale scored in the Premier League, the Carabao Cup and the Europa League, but only once in each competition and his results were below the expectation. The 31-year-old picked up another injury in the Europa League and it is not yet known when he will return.
