In west London, Álvaro Arbeloa’s attempt to lift Fulham out of a difficult Premier League opening has brought an uncomfortable dressing-room question to the surface. Joachim Andersen, the Danish centre-back who wore the captain’s armband repeatedly last season, has publicly questioned his reduced role under the Spanish coach.
The news from the club
Andersen, 30, said he was surprised to find himself outside Arbeloa’s preferred starting side. “It surprises me a little,” he said. “I was captain in very, very many matches last season.”
The defender was unavailable for Fulham’s league opener because of a suspension. Since then, however, he has begun the matches against Liverpool and Manchester United among the substitutes. He was used only in the closing stages of Sunday’s draw with United.
Andersen made clear that he believes his performances have merited a more central place in the side. “I think I have played very well,” he said, while accepting that a coach may sometimes choose to “try something different”.
It leaves Arbeloa managing both an unsettled senior player and an early run of results that has not yet delivered a league victory. Fulham have taken two points from their first five Premier League fixtures, drawing twice and losing three times.
A draw that felt like another missed chance
The meeting with Manchester United offered Fulham a route to the breakthrough they have been seeking. Arbeloa’s team remained ahead until the 89th minute, when Cunha scored an equaliser and denied the home side a first win of the campaign.
Afterwards, Arbeloa suggested that the outcome had been shaped by wider circumstances, saying he had known “they would not let him lose here” in the wake of the previous round’s Manchester City-Manchester United match.
The remark brought comparisons with José Mourinho, Arbeloa’s former manager at Real Madrid. Mourinho is now back in charge of the Spanish club and has similarly become associated with arguments beyond the pitch as he seeks to change his own side’s fortunes.
