Arthur - CM - Barcelona (4 Viewers)

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s4tch

Senior Member
Mar 23, 2015
27,802
...Arthur will slot snuggly into Pjanic’s No 5 shirt, protected by two ‘mezz’ale’ beside him....
i have no idea why many suggest that arthur will play in the middle of a 3-man midfield for us. at barcelona, it was either busquets or rakitic who played in the middle, arthur always played as a mezz'ala (or am on rare occasions).

anyway, i'd put bentancur in the middle, he earned it.
 

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Hust

Senior Member
Hustini
May 29, 2005
93,320
i have no idea why many suggest that arthur will play in the middle of a 3-man midfield for us. at barcelona, it was either busquets or rakitic who played in the middle, arthur always played as a mezz'ala (or am on rare occasions).

anyway, i'd put bentancur in the middle, he earned it.
This.


Pogba on the left, Arthur on the right should do the trick.
 

DAiDEViL

Senior Member
Feb 21, 2015
62,568
Juve win big with Arthur
As Juventus prepare to swap Miralem Pjanic for Barcelona’s Arthur Melo, Livio Caferoglu explains why the Bianconeri are getting by far the better end of the deal...

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“I didn’t know much about Arthur before [he joined], but he’s really similar to Xavi,” Lionel Messi raved about Arthur Melo in September 2018, just two months after the midfielder left Gremio to join Barcelona. “He’s really safe and reliable [on the ball]. He has the style of a player that’s come through La Masia. He plays well over short distances, he doesn’t lose the ball… He’s got to grips really quickly with the team’s dynamic.”
Praise doesn’t come much higher than that. Not only did it come from arguably the greatest player in history, but Leo was comparing the Brazilian to arguably the game’s greatest metronome. Luis Enrique’s Barca, while hugely successful, were accused of betraying the club’s DNA after the departure of Xavi in 2015. His departure coincided with the last time the Blaugrana won the Champions League and, with no like-for-like replacement, their play under the former Roma boss increasingly bypassed the middle of the park.
Even with a front three of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez, that was considered sacrilege. That all changed during the 2017-18 campaign, when Neymar moved to Paris Saint-Germain and Ousmane Dembele flattered to deceive in his place. Barca were markedly average for much of the season, their 3-0 defeat to Roma an unfortunate highlight, and they stepped up their search for a Xavi heir, tying up a €39m deal for Arthur, who had just won the Copa Libertadores with Gremio and was also wanted by PSG and Chelsea.
Ernesto Valverde had envisaged lining Arthur up in a midfield three with Sergio Busquets and Philippe Coutinho, who at the time had been backed to take over from Andres Iniesta. Although things didn’t quite pan out that way, the 23-year-old didn’t take long to make an impact. Not at least on his teammates, who quickly began queuing up with praise, from Rafinha saying he had ‘a touch of Xavi about him’ to Thomas Vermaelen stating he ‘has all the battling skills and technical ability to go right to the top’.
In two particular matches during his debut season at Camp Nou, he confirmed his credentials as the heir to Xavi. First, he completed 135 of his 142 passes in 1-1 draw at Valencia to play the most successful balls in a Spanish league game away from home since his predecessor back in November 2012. He then followed that up in the Champions League, achieving a 98.6 percent pass completion rate with 71 successful passes out of 72 during a 5-1 rout of Olympique Lyonnais.
This term, however, he has been unfairly made a scapegoat by his club and new boss Quique Setien, who ludicrously suggested Arthur had failed to live up to expectations. While it’s fair to say Barca have endured a turbulent campaign by their lofty standards, levelling any sort of blame at the playmaker is absurd when you consider he has missed part of the season with injury and has always been a quiet cog. The problem lies with how the Catalans’ poor performances have forced him out of his comfort zone, hanging out to dry.
“Since Arthur has been with me, he has tried very hard to take on the things we’ve asked [of] him,” the coach argued. “Sometimes he has been lacking some consistency, but it is not easy to change things in a player which other coaches have said are very good. Arthur has been used to being told to make sure of holding the ball. Now we come in and say you should play one or two touches. He has found it a challenge, but he is on a good path. It will make him a better player.”
That may well be one area where Arthur needs to improve, but Setien’s credibility is quickly shot down when the player replacing him at Camp Nou is Miralem Pjanic, who needs even more time on the ball and - at 30, seven years older than the Brazilian - has been showing signs of slowing down for some time. It may be that he enjoys a new lease of life as one of the outside central midfielders in the Blaugrana’s 4-3-3, but that seems unlikely. As the old saying goes, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
So what are Juve getting? They’re not signing Jorginho, but rather the next best thing. Arthur will slot snuggly into Pjanic’s No 5 shirt, protected by two ‘mezz’ale’ beside him. He has the quality to dictate games with his precise passing and brilliant footballing brain for the next decade. Defensively, the ball sticks to him like a magnet and his signature move, whereby he pirouettes his way out of trouble with poise, will be a weekly sight to behold for Juve fans, relieved their club has finally brought in a competent ‘regista’.
Arthur made no secret of his desire to stay at Barca and the deal may be primarily motivated by financial incentives, amidst speculation that Juve are standing to pocket a ‘plusvalenza’ - or capital gain - of €47m, with Barca’s balance sheet set to benefit from a much-needed €49m, but one thing can’t be disputed: the Old Lady are not only significantly weakening a direct rival. They’re also significantly strengthening themselves.
Does whoever wrote that article know that the old dog hasn't always played as holding mid?

We are not signing Jorginho :sad: but the next best thing.
 

s4tch

Senior Member
Mar 23, 2015
27,802
pogba isn't happening, and i don't think i'm a party pooper. it's been clear for a while that our wage bill is way too fat even without pogba. we don't have the funds for him, at least not this summer, and not without selling dybala and higuain.

i mean i wouldn't trade the two argies for pogba and a 9, let's say milik. maybe paratici would. :boh:
 

Badass J Elkann

It's time to go!!
Feb 12, 2006
65,406
I'd still take Arthur over Jorginho, also because we have bentancur who can do the same job as Jorginho if required. Besides I'm not bought on the idea we are after Jorginho now, if anything it'll be another dynamic midfielder
 

kappa96

Senior Member
Jun 20, 2018
6,884
i have no idea why many suggest that arthur will play in the middle of a 3-man midfield for us. at barcelona, it was either busquets or rakitic who played in the middle, arthur always played as a mezz'ala (or am on rare occasions).

anyway, i'd put bentancur in the middle, he earned it.
That's because Arthur was/is played out of position at barca. He doesn't have the stamina(rumors of him tiring after 60 min.) to be a box to box and busquets was played in front of the defense for his defensive contribution, which Arthur doesn't excel at, according to barca's forum. Technically he is good on the ball, very hard to be deposed of the ball, great passer with good vision. The defensive side of the game can be thought.
For me its obvious he is going to be played as a regista with benta the first box to box. The only thing missing is the other one, hopefully someone better than what we have.
If he doesn't work out he can be tried further up.
 

s4tch

Senior Member
Mar 23, 2015
27,802
...very hard to be deposed of the ball...
that's at least the 4th time i read on this forum that arthur is very hard to dispossess, and especially compared to pjanic, this counts as a clear upgrade. i'm not so sure.

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anyway, that's not my point. arthur's abilities aren't in question, it's his stamina, work ethics and fitness. if the club manages to keep him fit, i'm sure he'll be useful for us. my point is that he doesn't look like a direct pjanic alternative for me. his dribbling can be more useful for a mezz'ala, and the same goes for his passing. i'd put bentancur in the middle, whose calmness on the ball and actual defensive abilities make him more suitable to a mediano role in a 3-man midfield. i can see us leaving the good old classic regista role behind finally, and it's a good opportunity to do so. we'll see how our coach for next season decides.
 

Hust

Senior Member
Hustini
May 29, 2005
93,320
that's at least the 4th time i read on this forum that arthur is very hard to dispossess, and especially compared to pjanic, this counts as a clear upgrade. i'm not so sure.

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anyway, that's not my point. arthur's abilities aren't in question, it's his stamina, work ethics and fitness. if the club manages to keep him fit, i'm sure he'll be useful for us. my point is that he doesn't look like a direct pjanic alternative for me. his dribbling can be more useful for a mezz'ala, and the same goes for his passing. i'd put bentancur in the middle, whose calmness on the ball and actual defensive abilities make him more suitable to a mediano role in a 3-man midfield. i can see us leaving the good old classic regista role behind finally, and it's a good opportunity to do so. we'll see how our coach for next season decides.
But look at the % difference in how much more Arthur attempts to dribble. Attempt to dribble more often, you're going to have a higher % of being dispossessed.

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Pjanic: 2497 minutes, 3 goals, 2 assists
Arthur: 1483 minutes, 4 goals, 4 assists :green:
 

Xperd

Allegrophobic Infidel
Jun 1, 2012
32,255
But look at the % difference in how much more Arthur attempts to dribble. Attempt to dribble more often, you're going to have a higher % of being dispossessed.

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Pjanic: 2497 minutes, 3 goals, 2 assists
Arthur: 1483 minutes, 4 goals, 4 assists :green:
Barca create more chances per game on an average than Juventus

Plus Pjanić is a holding mid whilst Arthur plays further forward

Very misleading statistic
 

s4tch

Senior Member
Mar 23, 2015
27,802
So is the argument to have him play LCM and not centrally?

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But yeah, you don't want your last CM losing it in the center often :grin:
yes, i'd play him as a mezz'ala. our squad for next year remains to be seen, but if my guess is right, we won't sign an other starter level cm. the most technical trio (ramsey-bentancur-arthur) is not even remotely physical for my taste, so i'd go with arthur-bentancur-matuidi. kulu has tons of grinta and workrate to provide balance for the right side.

anyway, we'll see, knowing how plusvalentus works, there's plenty more unexpected to come during the mercato.

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That will change when they start playing Pjanic LOL
it's fancy to shit on pjanic, but even with the terrible 2nd part of the season, he's got much more key passes than arthur, who in addition plays further up the pitch. for barcelona's gameplay, an in-form, motivated pjanic is a clear upgrade over arthur for the next couple of seasons.

let's hope we can exploit arthur's strengths somehow. i don't see him as an ideal regista.
 
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pavluska

Senior Member
Apr 25, 2013
7,339
I'd still take Arthur over Jorginho, also because we have bentancur who can do the same job as Jorginho if required. Besides I'm not bought on the idea we are after Jorginho now, if anything it'll be another dynamic midfielder
Yeah, no chance we're after Jorginho.


This guy will get fouled a lot in Serial A unless he plays regista. Hope he survives the physical and mental assault.

He's so hard to dispossess with those turns and 360s. But he'll be stopped in Serie A, by one mean or another.

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Does whoever wrote that article know that the old dog hasn't always played as holding mid?

We are not signing Jorginho :sad: but the next best thing.
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It's time to let it go...
 
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