Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso gave his first press conference at Valdebebas since his arrival in May.
He had been delivering his conferences in the USA because of the Club World Cup, and now he finally gave one in the place that is his home for the next few years.
Real Madrid play Osasuna on Tuesday, and Alonso will take charge of a match at the Santiago Bernabeu for the first time as well, so it is a special couple of days for the manager.
Alonso was asked about the right-back spot in his press conference on Monday, and what he had to say about the battle between two top fullbacks in Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal was clear to see.
Xabi Alonso has a plan for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal
He said: “I know it’s great competition. And I love that we have two players who can play in each position. Sometimes I’ll have to rotate, but we have two players for every position.
"Carvajal is getting closer and closer to his best. That’s very good for the squad. We have a lot of games.“
To be absolutely fair, this has just brought up how big of a headache Alonso will have when he picks this spot in the lineup before the biggest games this season.
This is a problem Real Madrid have not had in a very long time. They have not had two brilliant right-backs for a while, as Lucas Vazquez has been the team's back-up right-back since 2021.
As good as he sometimes was there, Real Madrid coaches never had a problem to pick between him and Carvajal in a high stakes game, because Carvajal was just so much better and Vazquez was not exactly a right-back.
Times have changed now; Carvajal is amazing, but so is Trent. So it will be difficult for Alonso, although I do think it will depend on the game state.
Carvajal coming back from an ACL injury does change the tide slightly in Trent's favour, but it is so neck-and-neck, and it will be some amazing healthy competition for the two boys.