Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez says Alvaro Arbeloa deserves a Spain call-up.

"If he continues playing well then I am sure he will go with the national team and play games for Spain," Benitez told liverpoolfc.tv. "He was really unlucky earlier in the season when he was playing really well for us and then got injured because he could have had a chance then.

"I don't know how close he is or if the manager is thinking about him, but it's clear he is playing well for us.

"When we signed him we knew he was a player with quality who could do a good job for us in different positions. He gives us the options we need to be able to rest different players."