Is Arda the answer for Barca?

In his first column of the new La Liga season, Guillem Balague assesses the emergence of Arda Turan at Barcelona and examines how their closest title rivals – Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid – kicked off their bid to wrestle the Primera Division away from the Camp Nou.

Champions Barcelona got their title defence underway with a comprehensive 6-2 victory at home to Real Betis before Real followed suit with a 3-0 win at Real Sociedad. Atleti, however, had to settle for a point as new-boys Alaves snatched a draw in the closing stages of Sunday’s clash at the Vicente Calerdon.

But what did we learn from the opening round of fixtures? Sky Sports’ Spanish football expert Balague dissects the performances of last season’s top three before answering YOUR questions…

Barcelona

For Barcelona the 4-3-3 formation is like a religion but, with Arda Turan in such good form, the shape of Luis Enrique’s side looks more like a 4-4-2. Turan, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have scored 10 of Barca’s 11 goals so far this season, with the Turkey international accountable for three of those.

While not overly important at this early stage of the season, it’s an interesting development that adds a new layer to Barcelona’s attack.

It’s my understanding that Barca are still looking for a striker, they think they can get Paco Alcacer but Valencia are adamant he is not leaving. If that pursuit fails, though, Turan could be that forward they need.

He is a midfielder by trade so I’m not sure whether he would accept the role, but his lack of continuity means his hopes of dislodging the likes of Andres Iniesta or Ivan Rakitic in midfield are slim.

He hasn’t got the fluidity of a midfielder but he is good at dribbling, finding that killer pass and scoring goals, so you could argue he’d be more suited to a forward role. Perhaps Barcelona have already got that forward they need among their ranks?

Barca’s work off the ball against Real Betis was impressive and, of course, Luis Suarez has started this season where he finished the last. Overall of the impressions gained from their 6-2 victory was a clear sense that Messi was switched on. He was completely hungry, sharp both physically and mentally. That is very good news for Barcelona as they look to defend their Primera Division crown.

Real Madrid

The first impressions I got from Real Madrid was Zinedine Zidane’s resemblance of Carlo Ancelotti in the sense that he didn’t make an issue of being without five first-team regulars – Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Pepe, Keylor Navas and Karim Benzema – for the trip to the Anoeta. Zidane has told Benzema to come back when he is 100 per cent recovered from his hip problem, but at this stage nobody knows when that will be.

While there may be similarities between the former Real boss and the current, what’s different about Zidane is that he doesn’t play the guys who have the greater …

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