Former Northern Ireland international and Real Mallorca striker Gerry Armstrong is an expert analyst and commentator for Sky Sports ’ coverage of Spanish football . Here , he shares his thoughts with Sportsmail 's Craig Hope on the Gareth Bale saga at Real Madrid… . Gareth is under a lot of pressure and sometimes that can get to you . But the recent criticism aimed at him is completely unfounded and unnecessary . I have seen him play really well this season and I have seen him play some indifferent games . He is probably having a decent season , but it could still be brilliant . Real are only four points behind Barcelona in the league and you would fancy them to get past Atletico and into the last four of the Champions League . Gareth Bale was heavily criticised after Real Madrid 's 2-1 defeat at the hands of La Liga rivals Barcelona . An estimated 400 million people watched Bale struggle on television as Real moved four points behind Barca . Bale has been criticised by Real supporters despite winning four trophies since joining the club in 2013 . And don ’ t forget what an impact he had last year . He scored in the final of the Champions League and Copa del Rey and finished with 22 goals . He 's on 16 now and will better that total this year , what more can you ask ? All this talk of dropping him is rubbish – you can ’ t drop Gareth Bale , he scores and creates too many goals . Real have been going through a slump in the past five weeks or so . They have been missing key players . But it seems Gareth has been taking a lot of the stick from fans , and I don ’ t agree with that , although he has probably been trying too hard at times . Now that Toni Kroos and Luka Modric are back I think you ’ ll see Gareth really re-emerge and rediscover his best form , because I admit he wasn ’ t great against Barcelona on Sunday . He wasn ’ t the only top player to disappoint , but he disappeared from the game for long periods and sometimes he needs to be more forceful . The Wales international took his anger out on a corner flag after netting a brace against Levante on March 15 . Cracks seem to be appearing in Bale 's relationship with Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo . On the issue of him being unhappy , only he knows how happy he really is at Madrid . Part of the problem is the language and being comfortable with your team-mates . Then there is the situation with Cristiano Ronaldo . I wouldn ’ t say the relationship between himself and Ronaldo is bad , but Cristiano was so petulant when Gareth scored his goals against Levante last week - he could not hide the disappointment from his face . He ’ s like a spoilt brat at times . But the fans are so forgiving with Ronaldo because of the goals he scores , it ’ s very unfair . They say Gareth should pass more to Ronaldo - that ’ s nonsense . It was the same with Cesc Fabregas and the pressure on him to pass to Lionel Messi at Barcelona . It ’ s not helpful . AS say Real 'missed and they paid for it ' while Marca highlight Madrid 's misses during the La Liga match . I would like to see Gareth say , “ I ’ m better than all of this ” and prove how good he is on the pitch - and I think he will because he has got great ability . He ’ s got everything - he scores goals and creates them , he ’ s brilliant in the air , he strong , he ’ s fast , he ’ s aggressive . For me , he ’ s very close to being right up there with Messi and Ronaldo . There is talk of him going to Manchester United , but it would be a huge mistake on Real ’ s part if they agreed to sell him . If I was him though I ’ d keep my options open and see how I feel at the end of the season . But I think he will still be at Madrid next season . This will blow over given a few goals and the team clicking again . In a few weeks ’ time I ’ d bet we ’ ll be having completely different discussions about Gareth and all of this will be forgotten .
Gareth Bale has been criticised following his display against Barcelona . The Welshman 's car was attacked by a fan after Real 's 2-1 defeat . Bale 's relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo is not as strong as it once was . Man United are said to be interested in bringing Bale back to England . READ : Bale is feeling the heat after being made a scapegoat at Real .