Let's check some stats in all matches where we played 433 or something close to a 433:
Valladolid 1:0, Cou, Busi, Raki
Huesca 8:2, Cou, Busi, Raki
Sociedad 2:1, Rafinha, Raki, Roberto
Psv 4:0, Cou, Busi, Raki
Leganes 1:2, Cou, Busi, Raki
Bilbao 1:1, Rakitic, Roberto, Vidal
Tottenham 4:2, Arthur, Busi, Raki
Valencia 1:1, Arthur, Busi, Raki
Sevilla 4:2, Arthur, Busi, Raki
Inter 2:0, Arthur, Busi, Raki
Real 5:1, Arthur, Busi, Raki
Rayo 3:2, Arthur, Busi, Raki
Inter 1:1, Arthur, Busi, Raki
Betis 3:4, Arthur, Busi, Raki
Psv 2:1, Raki, Busi, Vidal
Villareal 2:0, Raki, Busi, Vidal
Espanyol 4:0, Raki, Busi, Vidal
Levante 5:0, Raki, Busi, Vidal
Celta 2:0, Raki, Busi, Vidal
I haven't included matches:
Atletico, Alaves where we played 442.
Girona 2:2, an early red card for us.
Tottenham 1:1, a mixed lineup.
Now, let's check our players, some midfield trios and their statistical results, goals scored and goals conceded regarding Barca.
Rakitic, 19 matches:
Vall 1:0
Huesca 8:2
Sociedad 2:1
Psv 4:0
Leganes 1:2
Bilbao 1:1
Tott 4:2
Valencia 1:1
Sevilla 4:2
Inter 2:0
Real 5:1
Rayo 3:2
Inter 1:1
Betis 3:4
Psv 2:1
Vill 2:0
Esp 4:0
Lev 5:0
Celta 2:0
= 14w, 3, 2
= 55:20
Busquets, 17 matches:
Vall 1:0
Huesca 8:2
Psv 4:0
Leganes 1:2
Tott 4:2
Valencia 1:1
Sevilla 4:2
Inter 2:0
Real 5:1
Rayo 3:2
Inter 1:1
Betis 3:4
Psv 2:1
Vill 2:0
Esp 4:0
Lev 5:0
Celta 2:0
= 13 wins, 2, 2
= 52:18
Vidal, 6 matches:
Bilbao 1:1
Psv 2:1
Vill 2:0
Esp 4:0
Lev 5:0
Cel 2:0
= 5 wins, 1 draw, 0 defeats
= 16:2
Arthur, 8 matches:
Tott 4:2
Val 1:1
Sev 4:2
Inter 2:0
Real 5:1
Rayo 3:2
Inter 1:1
Betis 3:4
= 5, 2, 1
= 23:13
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Percentage of wins for Barca when a XX midfielder is a starter in 433:
83% Vidal
76% Busquets
74% Rakitic
63% Arthur
Goals scored per match by Barca when a XX midfielder is a starter in 433:
3,06 Busquets
2,89 Rakitic
2,88 Arthur
2,67 Vidal
Goals conceded per match by Barca when a XX midfielder is a starter in 433:
0,33 Vidal
1,05 Rakitic
1,06 Busquets
1,63 Arthur
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Now, let's check some midfield trios, and their stats:
Raki-Busi-Vidal, 5 matches:
Psv 2:1
Vill 2:0
Esp 4:0
Lev 5:0
Cel 2:0
= 5, 0, 0
= 15:1
Arthur-Raki-Busi, 8 matches:
Tott 4:2
Val 1:1
Sev 4:2
Int 2:0
Real 5:1
Rayo 3:2
Inter 1:1
Betis 3:4
= 5, 2, 1
= 23:13
Cou, Busi, Raki, 4 matches:
Vall 1:0
Hue 8:2
Psv 4:0
Leg 1:2
= 3, 0, 1
= 14:4
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Percentage of Barca's wins with a XX midfield trio:
100% Busi, Raki, Vidal
75% Cou, Busi, Raki
63% Arthur, Busi, Raki
Barca's goals per match with a XX midfield trio:
3,50 Cou-Raki-Busi
3,00 Raki-Busi-Vidal
2,88 Arthur-Busi-Raki
Barca's conceded goals per match:
0,20 Raki-Busi-Vidal
1,00 Cou-Raki-Busi
1,63 Arthur-Busi-Raki
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Now, again, stats are in favor of Vidal-Raki-Busi trio.
Defensively, the weakest trio is the one when Arthur plays.
Let's take some additional stats from Whoscored to see official individual defensive stats of our midfielders:
La Liga, all matches:
Tackles:
2,5 Busquets
1,7 Vidal
0,8 Rakitic
0,5 Coutinho
0,5 Arthur
Interceptions:
2,1 Rakitic
1,5 Busquets
0,7 Vidal
0,5 Coutinho
0,3 Arthur
Clearances:
0,6 Rakitic
0,4 Vidal
0,3 Busquets
0,1 Coutinho
0,1 Arthur
Blocks:
0,2 Rakitic
0,2 Busquets
0,1 Vidal
0,0 Coutinho
0,0 Arthur
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So, in every single defensive stat, Arthur is the weakest out of these 5.
And now, a lot of guys here, want to pair our defensively the weakest CM with the 2nd weakest (defensively) CM in Coutinho.
That would be: 2 very bad defenders in our midfield (Arthur and Coutinho), paired with Messi who is not defending and Dembele who is also quite a bad defender.
I know, that team would offer nice passes and creativity in attack.
But what happens when we would lose the ball?
= yes, 10s of deadly counters in each match with Busi being caught alone with numerous fast opponents running at him.
So, you guys are shitting on Valverde, but he is actually quite logical and he is playing a number's game.
Currently: Vidal-Busi-Raki is the strongest midfield trio with 100% of wins and conceding 0,20 goals per match.
Midfield trios with Arthur bring more control and TikiTaka passing but also 1,63 goals conceded per match.
While Coutinho-Arthur midfield duo paired with Messi and Dembele would probably break all records in terms of Barca's goals conceded per match.
Every match would end with 4:3, 3:3 and 3:4.