The break in the competition and the consequent America Cup postponement (and the Euro Cup) for 2021 the plans of all the coaches and many players have changed. Some of these, because they were seen in the final call; and others, on the contrary, because they saw that they were leaving the train. In Atlético, of the latter, there are the cases of Héctor Herrera and Arias.
Herrera is a landline with Mexico long before coming to Atlético, but he also played regularly at Porto. Now, with Simeone, although he had a lot and at a high level during a good stretch of the competition, he has run out of room. He was injured just before the Bernabéu derby on February 1, and since then, largely due to recovery, he hasn't played for a minute. At Anfield, for example, he stayed in the stands.
Not his fault, but it would have been difficult for him to imminently recover his position at Atlético and that could have affected him in the face of the Copa América. In fact, Tata Martino himself recently regretted the low participation of Herrera and several colleagues from El Tri. Between now and 2021, many things can change and perhaps the medium has recovered a more relevant role, the one it had until its injury without going any further: not indisputable, but important.
So it seems the situation for Arias more complicated. The winger not only lost in direct competition with Trippierbut after the return of Vrsaljko, East it has also exceeded in Simeone's preferences. The Colombian has only played in one of the last nine games (66 ’in Valencia) and, being the third right back, It will be tough until you enter the calls.
Queiroz, without going very far, came to see him at Atlético-Liverpool, but Arias was one of the discarded. The rojiblanco is still a regular with Colombia, but the coach has other options on his mind. Ear, from Gremio, is postulated as the side of the moment in the coffee team, and even manages the idea of Stefan Medina, from Monterrey.
In this sense, the one-year extension could come in handy for Arias. He is one of the candidates to leave Atlético in the summer, as he has a difficult time becoming important under Cholo, although his individual performance has not been good when he has had to play. So, if he goes out and ends up in a team where he can exhibit his qualities, he will win back Queiroz's trust facing the Playoffs and the Copa América 2021.