Arbeloa Acknowledges Stiff Competition

Subject: Arbeloa Acknowledges Stiff Competition Fri Aug 29, 2008 1:06 pm

Alvaro Arbeloa is refusing to get cozy in Liverpool's starting XI,
as he is well aware of the competition he will face from his team-mates
throughout the season...

Arbeloa has started all four of the Reds' competitive fixtures so far
this season, leading some to declare that he has won the title of
first-choice right-back.

But the Spaniard dismissed the notion
that he has cemented his place in the team, saying in LFC Magazine: "No
way. You can never say that you are a first choice at this football
club.

"If you start to think like that then you can just about guarantee that you are about to lose your place.

"It's
a big fight to get into the team – it's a bigger fight to stay there. I
need to play to the best of my ability in every minute of every game I
start to stand a chance."

Nonetheless, it seems clear that
Rafael Benitez prefers his compatriot over the ageing Steve Finnan, who
for so long owned that slot on the right-hand side of Liverpool's
rearguard.

The other key challenger is Philipp Degen, the Swiss
international who arrived at Anfield on a free transfer earlier in the
summer, but his opportunities have been non-existent thus far due to
injury.

But Arbeloa was full of praise for both Degen and Finnan, insisting each will prove tough competition as the campaign wears on.

"I
don't know too much about Philipp Degen but what I have seen of him
since he came to Liverpool you can see why the manager signed him. He
is good going forward," the EURO 2008 winner continued.

"You
also have Steve Finnan still at the club and any time he plays he plays
well. He is very consistent and no-one ever seems to get the better of
him.

"Degen has been injured but he has come here to compete
and he will want to play. When he is fit then I know that I will have a
bigger battle on my hands than ever before."
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