Alvaro Arbeloa has been confirmed as Fulham’s new head coach on a three-year deal.
He replaces Marco Silva, who departed the club at the end of the season.
In this article, we look at what Arbeloa’s appointment means from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective.
CAREER SO FAR
After spells in charge of the Real Madrid youth and reserve sides, Arbeloa assumed control of the first team from Xabi Alonso in January.
An emergency appointment by Florentino Perez, he led Madrid for 28 matches in all competitions, with 18 wins, two draws and eight defeats, scoring 58 goals and conceding 34.
As those results indicate, his time as head coach at the Bernabeu was somewhat inconsistent.
After a disastrous start, a Copa del Rey loss to Albacete, Madrid impressively beat Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League, before losing to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.
In La Liga, they finished second, eight points behind Barcelona (they were four points off the top upon his arrival).
But Arbeloa admittedly came into a very difficult situation at Madrid, with a fractured dressing room after the players had not taken well to Alonso’s demands, so it was always going to be a tricky period.
IN QUOTES
“It is a real honour for me to be embarking on this new stage at Fulham FC, the oldest club in London. I feel a great sense of responsibility and I’m deeply grateful to Mr Khan and Tony Khan for the trust they have placed in me with Fulham in the Premier League. I am really looking forward to experiencing the atmosphere at Craven Cottage with Fulham fans and beginning pre-season with the players next week. I am sure we are going to enjoy an incredible journey together. Come on Fulham!” – Alvaro Arbeloa
“Alvaro is, by his own admission, very ambitious. He has spent quality time around the best players, clubs and methods in the game, experiences which will serve him well here at Fulham. Alvaro also has great interest in our academy set-up and believes in giving young players a chance. I loved hearing that from Alvaro, as well as his intent on playing attacking football. All of this and a lot more makes Alvaro Arbeloa an ideal fit to lead Fulham Football Club into the upcoming Premier League season and beyond.” – Shahid Khan on Alvaro Arbeloa
ARBELOA’S IN-TRAY
Silva led Fulham to a comfortable 11th-place finish in 2025/26.
But a closer look at the underlying numbers reveals a few potential issues that Arbeloa will need to address.
The Cottagers’ goal tally last season was pretty much in line with their expected goals (xG), with 47 goals from 48.3 xG. However, they need to create more high-quality opportunities, given that only relegated Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers recorded fewer Opta ‘big chances’.
If Fulham are to progress under Arbeloa, increasing their goal threat will be a priority.
Their away form needs to improve, too, with just four wins on the road last season:
But perhaps most importantly of all, Fulham need to bolster their squad.
This summer, they’ve already lost their two top goalscorers from 2025/26, Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez.
After them, there was a notable drop-off in goal output, with Alex Iwobi leading the way with four, so two or three new high-quality attackers this summer feels like a must.
After Raul’s departure, Rodrigo Muniz is currently Fulham’s only senior striker, so it’s no surprise Arbeloa reportedly wants to raid his old club for three new players: Fran Garcia, Franco Mastantuono and centre-forward Gonzalo Garcia, who netted eight times for Los Blancos last season.
PREFERRED TACTICS/PLAYING STYLE
Here’s a quick summary of what to expect from Fulham under Arbeloa:
- An attacking style of football, which Shahid Khan referenced upon Arbeloa’s appointment: “… as well as his intent on playing attacking football”.
- Arbeloa initially used a 4-3-3 formation at Madrid, but later switched to a 4-4-2, with one attacker dropping back into midfield. Discussing the latter set-up, he said:
“Defensively, it’s a structure that closes down the midfield corridor, where there are more players, and allows us to be more compact. With the type of players we have, if we want to counter-attack, it also allows us to do so. The goal is always to be solid. It’s very difficult these days to play good football if you’re not solid, compact, and don’t know how to press high up the pitch. To do all that, you need a lot of concentration, a lot of work and training.” – Alvaro Arbeloa
- A fluid, possession-based approach, in which the goalkeeper and defenders will look to build from the back.
- Advanced full-backs who are heavily involved, either supplying the width or tucking into midfield. At Madrid, left-back Alvaro Carreras scored one goal and supplied two assists in 11 La Liga matches under Arbeloa, so the Spaniards appointment could be good news for Antonee Robinson.
- A holding midfielder to break up play and provide balance. However, Arbeloa likes rotations in the middle of the park, so it won’t necessarily be one player fulfilling this role.
- A clear focal point up top.
- Tactically, it doesn’t feel too dissimilar to Silva, but we can expect much more pressing higher up the pitch.
- Plenty of opportunities for young players. Remember, Khan has already said “Alvaro also has great interest in our academy set-up and believes in giving young players a chance”. Arbeloa fast-tracked 18-year-old central midfielder Thiago Pitarch into the Madrid senior setup earlier this year, which worked very well for him. He also leaned on young players such as Raul Asencio, Dean Huijsen, Arda Guler, Mastantuono and Garcia, which you can read more about here.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Arbeloa’s time at Real Madrid may be no real reference for Fulham, but the aforementioned tactical adjustments all sound pretty good in theory.
Although it didn’t quite work out for him at Madrid, Arbeloa may be a better fit at Fulham, where he can bring in some much-needed fresh ideas.
Nevertheless, his appointment still feels like a bit of a gamble.
Arbeloa will want to prioritise attacking football, but Fulham don’t really have the squad for that right now. That’s why the transfer window will be crucial. If Arbeloa can call in some favours from his previous employers to secure loan deals for Mastantuono and Garcia, it’s a step in the right direction.
Arbeloa will face his predecessor Alonso in Fulham’s first match of the 2026/27 season, against Chelsea. A potentially tricky run follows (sun/CRY/liv/MUN), which takes us up to the first international break, which will likely be a popular Wildcard window.
From there, Fulham have a superb sequence of fixtures, facing all three of the promoted teams in succession.
Most FPL managers won’t be looking to invest at the outset, then.
However, if players like Joachim Andersen, Robinson, Iwobi, perhaps even Oscar Bobb and a new centre-forward, show enough potential in the early weeks, they could be superb pick-ups from Gameweek 6.
Look out for young players like Luc De Fougerolles and Josh King in pre-season, too, as they could be decent cheap enablers if handed regular starts.
