Real Madrid triumphed 2-1 at Balaidos, with Fede Valverde scoring a 90th minute winner.
Speaking afterwards, Arbeloa said: "There are still many points left, 33 if I’m not mistaken, and at this stage, it’s almost as if the league hasn’t started yet. There’s a lot left, because all the matches now are against teams that have their own objectives, and each game is going to be a battle.
"Today, we came here with 10 absentees, if I’m not mistaken, and the performance the players delivered on a pitch like this deserves a lot of credit."
"We all know how tough and difficult Balaídos is and how Celta has been playing football recently, with the confidence they’ve had. So I’m very happy, especially for the personality, for the people who wanted to come, who wanted to push and in a difficult moment wanted to step up. As I said yesterday, these are the moments when you see the Real Madrid players, and today I saw many of them."
Thiago a gamechanger
On the performance of young midfielder Thiago Pitarch, Arbeloa also said: “You asked me about him the other day in the press conference, and I’ll repeat it again. I think we need to give a lot of credit to what Thiago did today, once again. For the personality he has, the effort, and that ability to press one, two, or three times in a row.
"How he wants the ball, how he doesn’t lose it when under pressure, and how he always tries to find the best option. He’s a player who touches and moves, who’s constantly available. To attack these kinds of defenses, we need dynamic players like him, capable of making one, two, three, or ten runs even if they don’t receive the ball."
He also remarked: "Today, we have to value the great game Thiago played. Also, how César Palacios performed when he came on, how Manuel Ángel came in later with that tackle he made, or Gonzalo (Garcia). I think we have an academy that we need to value much more. Obviously, the best players in the world come here, but we have academy players of very high quality. The game they all played today is great news.
“It’s been a long time since an academy player came up from Castilla and established themselves. The last one was Gonzalo, Asencio... and I think it’s always good news when an 18-year-old establishes himself in the first team and plays. Thiago is earning his minutes. It’s not about my trust; it’s about his football. Moreover, he aligns very well with what it means to be a Real Madrid player: in the way he plays, the work he puts in, and all that effort. I think he’s a player who embodies the Real Madrid brand.”