Zidane puts the ball back in 45 minutes and offers a slight compliment through the clenched teeth

Zinedine Zidane congratulated Gareth Bale for his "good performance" after the Welsh played a key role in Real Madrid's 3-2 shootout win over Arsenal.

The boss of the Real has been criticized in recent days about comments on the possible departure of Bale, but then denied having shown a lack of respect for the attacker.

Speaking to reporters after the clashes at the International Champions Cup in Washington on Tuesday, Zidane said he was pleased with Bale's efforts after unleashing a second-half comeback against the Gunners.

"He played today, he wanted it and he did a good job," he said.

"He made a good performance and I'm happy for him. He wanted to be with us today, he trained normally and played the game. "

Bale came into play at half-time, after Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang firmly placed Arsenal at the helm of FedExField.

Nine minutes later, he found the back of the net, scoring a goal six yards to halve the deficit.

His goal was quickly followed by another striker Marco Asensio, whose clinical goal in the 59th minute reduced the level of the Spanish giants and left the score tied at 2-2 full time.

Zidane, who said Monday that Bale had not played against Bayern Munich last weekend because he did not want to, said the situation around his eventual withdrawal was unchanged.

"He is here and I do not know what will happen," he added.

Although impressive throughout the match, Bale had less success in penalty kicks and his effort was smart and easily saved by Emiliano Martinez.

Bale agent Jonathan Barnett revealed Tuesday that if the Welsh was to leave Santiago Bernabéu this summer, it would not be through the loan.

Real won the victory when young Arsenal player Robbie Burton tried his luck over the bar.

"We looked good and leveled in the second half. We are still in the preparation stage and we know that our game will improve a lot. We have improved today, "added Zidane.

There was some concern in the Real camp after Asensio was taken on a stretcher three minutes after scoring.

The 23-year-old fell after a trivial challenge with Aubameyang.

"We are a little worried," said Zidane.

"It's his knee, he went straight to the hospital for tests, so we'll see … But it does not look good.

"That's the disadvantage of today for us, we lost a player and we are really overwhelmed. We are devastated for Marco and hope that it will be the least serious result possible. "