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Premier League • England

Carlo Ancelotti calm after Arsenal transfer target kicks everything in sight during Real Madrid fury

Marco Asensio Real Madrid bench September 2020

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti says he is “fine” with the anger shown by Marco Asensio after the midfielder failed to get on the pitch again this weekend.

Asensio was seen throwing his bib, he then kicked the floor before throwing down his water bottle at the pitchside on Sunday at the Bernabeu. Asensio had been asked to warm-up by Ancelotti, but he could not hide his frustration when he was told he would not be coming on.

Eduardo Camavinga, Nacho, Luka Modric and Dani Carvajal were all brought on by the Italian coach, but Asensio was denied a taste of the action against his former club.

Instead of entering the pitch the 26-year-old launched himself onto the bench and sat with his arms folded.

It was a game with Real came from behind to win 4-1. Goals from Fede Valverde, Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior and Antonio Rudiger gave Los Blancos the victory to maintain their 100% start to their LaLiga season.

Real have won five from five, but Asensio has managed just seven minutes as a sub against Celta Vigo.

Valverde and Rodrygo are ahead of him in the pecking order and both were impressive on Sunday.

Ancelotti revealed afterwards that he had planned to bring on Asensio and Mariano Diaz until Madrid scored their second. An injury suffered to right-back Lucas Vazquez also saw Ancelotti switch his focus.

Asensio ‘the player most affected’

“If he’s angry, I agree with him,” said Ancelotti. “It’s normal, it means he wants to play, to feel important.

“In this period, he has been the player most affected in the squad and I take that into account. I’m totally in agreement with his anger. It’s fine.”

After just 18 minutes of senior action this season Asensio looks likely to leave the club next summer. His contract is up in June 2023 and there was interest in the player over the summer.

Ancelotti admitted last month that Asensio was considering his options.

“I don’t know anything new about Asensio, only that he is evaluating his situation,” said the Real boss in August. ” The second of September everything will be cleared up and if he stays he will be an important player and I will be delighted because last year he added a lot.”

Asensio will be free to speak to non-Spanish clubs in January.

Arteta changed tact

Arsenal and Manchester United were linked with late moves for the player last month. Arsenal though switched tact late on and pursued a central midfielder after an injury to Mohamed Elneny.

While United wrapped up the £86m transfer of Antony from Ajax.

Whether Mikel Arteta will go after another wide option in January is unclear. But he did not replace Nicolas Pepe after his departure and Marquinhos could be loaned out in the next window.

Asensio is eager to play for Spain at the World Cup this winter. And Ancelotti said recently that the attacker would still play an “important” role at Madrid if he stayed.

However, his time has not yet come this season and it’s obvious from his actions that he is becoming frustrated. A figure of £23.5m had reportedly been placed on his head in the summer. But that price tag will have dropped given he can now walk away as a free agent in 10 months time.