Arbeloa has also faced criticism from France striker Kylian Mbappe after he was left out of the starting line-up for Los Blancos’ 2-0 win over Real Oviedo.
Mbappe had missed his side’s two previous games, including last weekend’s El Clasico which Barcelona won to secure the league title, with a thigh injury and was whistled by his own fans when he came on.
The World Cup winner has faced scrutiny over his commitment to the club in recent weeks while an online petition calling for ‘Mbappe Out’ attracted tens of millions of signatures.
But the manager played down the incident on Saturday.
“I’ve just bumped into him, I told him to stay calm. I understand that these kinds of things make headlines, but it’s something much more normal than you think,” Arbeloa said.
“I used to be a player, I know what they can feel in these situations – playing every day, then playing less or not at all.
“I totally understand that Kylian wasn’t happy about not playing on Thursday, and I like that.
“I wouldn’t understand it if he didn’t want to play. My relationship with him remains the same.”
