The rookie Premier League manager is already under pressure after a winless start.
Álvaro Arbeloa’s position as Fulham manager is already is in question after a dreadful start to the Premier League season that has seen the club lose their first three games.
The former Real Madrid manager fell 3–2 to Chelsea at home on the opening gameweek, before suffering a 1–0 defeat away at Sunderland. Another 3–2 reverse, at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday, leaves the club 19th in the table with seven goals conceded across the three games.
Fulham’s defensive frailties have been exposed in the early stages of 2026–27, with Palace able to rip apart the Cottagers on the counter, with all three of their goals coming down the left wing.
Support for Arbeloa in west London appears to be evaporating. Fans were heard chanting “what the f—ing hell was that?” at the end of the latest defeat, while there are signs that several players are not happy with the situation.
Club record-signing Kevin, who has yet to start a league match under Arbeloa, posted a cryptic image on his Instagram stories of three apes with the words “no hear, no speak, no see”. Meanwhile, Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi have reportedly removed all Fulham-related photos from their own social media accounts.
It’s a situation that draws parallels with his brief tenure at Real Madrid.
‘I Am Confident’—Arbeloa Defiant Despite Dreadful Start
“It’s not about my position but I am very confident,” Arbeloa replied when asked about his job security following the defeat to Palace.
“I told my players they are working how I want. They are playing how I feel football. I came here because I believe in this football, playing how I think we will win games. As a coach, you don’t need to feel hurt or fear. You have to believe in yourself and your ideas.”
He added: “We conceded very easy goals. Crystal Palace didn’t need to do so many things to score three goals. We need to control the second balls and in some situations we are very wide and open.”
Youngster Josh King has been a rare bright spot for Fulham, while new signings César Palacios and Gonzalo García have shown promise. The issues for Arbeloa are toughening up his team’s soft center and convincing the locker room to buy into his ways of working—fast.
Fulham have only ever lost their first three top division games of the season twice before in 1951–52 and 2020–21—and it both seasons they were relegated. Next up for Arbeloa’s Fulham are Liverpool (away) and Manchester United (home), meaning there is a very real worry that the Cottagers will go into the first international break of the season on zero points.
Disharmony and Disorder a Familiar Story
Arbeloa was appointed at Fulham this summer as part of an unusual three-way job swap that also saw José Mourinho leave Benfica for Real Madrid and Marco Silva depart Craven Cottage for Portugal. So far, it feels as if Fulham have gotten the shortest straw of the three.
The 43-year-old had just half a season’s experience as a manager at senior level prior to this season and was only parachuted into the top job at the Bernabéu after Xabi Alonso’s departure in January, with president Florentino Pérez viewing the two-time Champions League-winning defender as the kind of good, club man needed to steady the ship amid a period of turmoil.
However, Arbeloa failed to quell the growing dissent and disorder in the locker room as Madrid fell short in Europe and domestically, ending the season without a trophy.
A particularly lackluster period in April saw Los Blancos dip out of the title race with a defeat to Mallorca and home draw to Girona, sandwiched between the Champions League quarterfinals exit to Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, bubbling tensions culminated in training ground fights and very real questions over the futures of key stars.
As someone who has spent considerable time rising through the ranks as a coach with Madrid’s famed academy, the hope at Fulham was that Arbeloa would be able to use his connections to bring in and develop some of the Spanish giants’ exciting, young talents. So far, the most notable thing he appears to have imported is an unhappy locker room.
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