Bilic: No problem motivating Arbeloa at West Ham

Slaven Bilic is confident that new West Ham signing Alvaro Arbeloa has a burning desire to achieve more success in the game after winning virtually all there is to be won with Real Madrid.

The full-back left Liverpool for Madrid in 2009 and returns to the Premier League boasting a trophy cabinet containing two Champions League winners’ medals, a La Liga title and a World Cup with Spain to boot.

The 33-year-old adds to a West Ham squad that has been wracked with injuries – forcing winger Michail Antonio to be deployed as an auxiliary full-back.

(Getty Images)

And Bilic insists playing at London Stadium with the Hammers is enough to motivate a man who has won so much.

“His CV is top of course,” he said. “He was at Liverpool so he knows the Premier League. He had ten years at Real Madrid and won everything.

“We were looking to strengthen that position, at least short-term and he was available and simply the perfect option what we needed.

“We watched a lot of Real Madrid games like everybody else and he’s a great professional, a player of great experience and I’m sure he’s going to help us a lot.

“Make no mistake, he’s coming here as a player, not as a mentor, not as a coach.”