Carlo Ancelotti decides to drop Real Madrid superstar for clash against Arsenal as rumored line-up change comes to light

By Deepungsu Pandit

Modified Apr 08, 2025 09:48 GMT

Carlo Ancelotti is preparing to face Arsenal

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has decided to drop Luka Modric to the bench for the upcoming game against Arsenal, reports MARCA. Los Blancos travel to the Emirates on Tuesday, April 8, to face the Gunners in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.

The LaLiga giants arrive at the game on the back of the 2-1 defeat against Valencia at home over the weekend. Carlo Ancelotti will be eager to come away from north London with an advantage, although he is wary of Arsenal's threat.

Real Madrid are without Aurelien Tchouameni and Dani Ceballos for the game. The Italian manager has apparently decided to go with a midfield trio of Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, and Eduardo Camavinga.

That means Modric will have to be on the bench after starting four of Los Blancos' last six games. The Croatian has been heavily involved this season, registering four goals and seven assists from 47 games across competitions for the LaLiga champions.

However, the 39-year-old's contract expires at the end of the season, and Real Madrid are yet to offer him a deal. Interestingly, Modric has created 3.1 chances per 90 minutes in LaLiga this season, the most in the Los Blancos squad.

Meanwhile, the report adds that Ancelotti will go with Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe, and Rodrygo as his attacking trident. Lucaz Vazquez will apparently start at right-back, while David Alaba will slot in at left-back to deal with Bukayo Saka, who is expected to be in Arsenal's starting XI.

Was Martin Odegaard right to leave Real Madrid to join Arsenal?

Martin Odegaard was right to leave Real Madrid to move to Arsenal, according to Carlo Ancelotti. The Norwegian midfielder initially joined the Gunners on loan in January 2021 before the transfer was made permanent in the summer.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's game, Ancelotti labeled the 26-year-old as one of the best midfielders in Europe.

“He was very young [at Real Madrid]. He had that talent when he was 16. He left the club for new experiences and he is one of the best midfielders right now in Europe,” said Ancelotti via Standard.

He continued:

“He was really young, he decided to go away to have the possibility to play and I think - honestly - he did well because now he is back at one of the most important clubs in Europe.”

Odegaard has registered 40 goals and 34 assists from 187 games for Arsenal to date.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written over 8500 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

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Edited by Ankush Das