Arthur

[mc_lovin]

Just shows that his ideal position is right midfield for us, where he can naturally sit deeper cause of Messi. Will be really interesting to see if De Jong and Arthur can coexist.

 

[messi2140]

Dude pretty much blasted Valverde for playing conservative football but in a really subtle way. Refreshing to hear someone say it how it is.


And you guys think FdJ will play to his full potential. If by some miracle he gets to play he won't be allowed to cross the halfway line and you will have the likes of BBZ tell you how bad Fdj is going forward.

 

[serghei]

Dude pretty much blasted Valverde for playing conservative football but in a really subtle way. Refreshing to hear someone say it how it is.


And you guys think FdJ will play to his full potential. If by some miracle he gets to play he won't be allowed to cross the halfway line and you will have the likes of BBZ tell you how bad Fdj is going forward.

Same, glad he speaks out about our turgid midfield setup.

First Semedo, now Arthur. It has started it seems. New-comers are getting tired of the clown dragging them back with his idiotic management. We need them to speak out more.

 

[xXKonan]

Not all that surprising really.

Valverde isn't worth shit at developing players during his time here and even creating a half decent system that doesn't involve parking the bus and giving it to Messi. I wouldn't even be shocked that squad bar the Captains and guys like Alba, Rakitic and Suarez give two shits about Valverde.

 

[BBZ8800]

If by some miracle he gets to play he won't be allowed to cross the halfway line and you will have the likes of BBZ tell you how bad Fdj is going forward.

You are not honest now.
I have said that Arthur played exactly in the same way for Gremio, Brasilian NT and Barcelona.
When you have a who player is playing in one way and then comes to Barca and plays differently, then you know that those are his instructions (for example, Rakitic as a CAM at Sevilla turning into Messi's babysitter in 2014/15).
On the other hand, if a player plays EXACTLY the same before Barca and at Barca, then you can't same that a coach has ruined him, but that this is his natural and instinctive style of play.

Look at a video from May of 2018.

Even at Gremio, Arthur was a master of defensive 60 meters of a field (let's say that a field is long 100 meters roughly).
He is awesome in our own half when he needs to bring the ball INTO an opponent's half.
He is good in getting the ball out of our half and resisting press and keeping possession while doing that.
But once when he enters into the opponent's half: a complete silence.
He isn't even trying to get into a final third (the same as how he plays for Barca) and when he enters into a final third, he is just passing to a fullback all the time.
Ev might be an idiot, but he subbed off Arthur every time when we needed to chase the score or when we played against a parked bus, because Arthur offered nothing in those moments when we need a final product in the final third.

Now go watch this video and look at ARthur's passes in general and look what happens when he passes a 60-meters mark of a field.
Someone will surely reply: BUT that is his job, he is NOT an attacking midfielder.
Fine, this is why I have said: imagine Busi, who is playing as a pivot and he is not too attacking.
Then imagine Arthur who is not willing to enter into an attacking third of a pitch.
That would mean that a whole burden of creativity would again lay on Frenkie's and Messi's shoulders.

Anyway, a video:
You guys act now as if he was a totally different player at Gremio. He was exactly the same in the opponent's half: a sideway passer and a ghost:

And then, if someone thinks that Xavi played that way, again, a video when Xavi was 23-24 in NT team.
Look at what Xavi is DOING in the opponent's half.
His passes are NOT only passes to a fullback or passing back to a defender and he was doing everything faster, with LESS touches and with a pass with more power.
PLus, Xavi was INTERESTED in entering into a final third, to make a dribble, to try a shot, to make a risky assist:

 

[aqua2nd]

You are not honest now.
I have said that Arthur played exactly in the same way for Gremio, Brasilian NT and Barcelona.
When you have a who player is playing in one way and then comes to Barca and plays differently, then you know that those are his instructions (for example, Rakitic as a CAM at Sevilla turning into Messi's babysitter in 2014/15).
On the other hand, if a player plays EXACTLY the same before Barca and at Barca, then you can't same that a coach has ruined him, but that this is his natural and instinctive style of play.

Look at a video from May of 2018.

Even at Gremio, Arthur was a master of defensive 60 meters of a field (let's say that a field is long 100 meters roughly).
He is awesome in our own half when he needs to bring the ball INTO an opponent's half.
He is good in getting the ball out of our half and resisting press and keeping possession while doing that.
But once when he enters into the opponent's half: a complete silence.
He isn't even trying to get into a final third (the same as how he plays for Barca) and when he enters into a final third, he is just passing to a fullback all the time.
Ev might be an idiot, but he subbed off Arthur every time when we needed to chase the score or when we played against a parked bus, because Arthur offered nothing in those moments when we need a final product in the final third.

Now go watch this video and look at ARthur's passes in general and look what happens when he passes a 60-meters mark of a field.
Someone will surely reply: BUT that is his job, he is NOT an attacking midfielder.
Fine, this is why I have said: imagine Busi, who is playing as a pivot and he is not too attacking.
Then imagine Arthur who is not willing to enter into an attacking third of a pitch.
That would mean that a whole burden of creativity would again lay on Frenkie's and Messi's shoulders.

Anyway, a video:
You guys act now as if he was a totally different player at Gremio. He was exactly the same in the opponent's half: a sideway passer and a ghost:

And then, if someone thinks that Xavi played that way, again, a video when Xavi was 23-24 in NT team.
Look at what Xavi is DOING in the opponent's half.
His passes are NOT only passes to a fullback or passing back to a defender and he was doing everything faster, with LESS touches and with a pass with more power.
PLus, Xavi was INTERESTED in entering into a final third, to make a dribble, to try a shot, to make a risky assist:

Was Xavi 25 years old in 2004 and it was his fifth La Liga season also fourth year played for national team?
I don't say that with time Arthur can be as good as Xavi but people seems to expect him to play as a veteran player while forgetting that he is still a young player

I'm not a football expert so I'm not sure if what I observed is correct but I definitely saw that our playing style is too conservative and rigid at the moment. That can affect players a lot so hopefully FDJ won't be limited in our midfield.

 

[tacticvarium]

No one should expect Xavi quality or style of play from Arthur. There aren't much similarities between them even stylewise. So stop this dumb comparison!!

 

[Riordon]

What he says is that he is a DM, not a CM. That he can’t position himself between the lines and is bad in attack. That he prefer to build from the back of the midfield.

A dm not a cm

 

[Potroh]

No one should expect Xavi quality or style of play from Arthur. There aren't much similarities between them even stylewise. So stop this dumb comparison!!

Even if some expect him to be a Xavi clone, you are right: the comparison is a bit bizarre.

The good & changeless BBZ says: "PLus, Xavi was INTERESTED in entering into a final third, to make a dribble, to try a shot, to make a risky assist" which is a complete nonsense in itself, because even the average fan should be aware of the fact, that as far as RISKS go, it is NOT the player who decides but he is performing certain types of passes and general game-play variations strictly under the coach's instructions.

Arthur is a good footballer, even if there are better ones out there, but a good player would ALWAYS be more offensive and more RISKY - if those were the tactical instructions.
Do these strange people think that someone becomes a 1st grade footballer but his favorite moves are back-passes only???
He does that because he is instructed to do that by an otherwise awful coach...

 

[Tackle]

Even if some expect him to be a Xavi clone, you are right: the comparison is a bit bizarre.

The good & changeless BBZ says: "PLus, Xavi was INTERESTED in entering into a final third, to make a dribble, to try a shot, to make a risky assist" which is a complete nonsense in itself, because even the average fan should be aware of the fact, that as far as RISKS go, it is NOT the player who decides but he is performing certain types of passes and general game-play variations strictly under the coach's instructions.

Arthur is a good footballer, even if there are better ones out there, but a good player would ALWAYS be more offensive and more RISKY - if those were the tactical instructions.
Do these strange people think that someone becomes a 1st grade footballer but his favorite moves are back-passes only???
He does that because he is instructed to do that by an otherwise awful coach...

Valverde is a limited coach, but it's ridiculous to use him as the scapegoat for all the problems our squad has.

The simple fact of the matter is that Arthur has always been a very limited player going forward and his only exceptional skill is retaining the ball. That's the very reason why he looks brilliant against the few teams that have bollocks to press us high, while looking mostly invisible against the low blocks we come across more frequently.

He has other limitations as well. His workrate is dire, he has the stamina of a 40 year former pro playing in a charity match, is poor physically, quite slow, a poor defender, rubbish in the air, amongst a host of other shortcomings.

Like BBZ has mentioned quite a few times already his style has remained constant throughout his time at Gremio, the Brazillian National Team and now F.C. Barcelona. So is it truly Valverde's fault Arthur doesn't have the instinct to make killer passes? After a certain age instincts cannot be coached out of a player. Coutinho for instance was programmed to always go forward and attack and could not hold back that urge when deployed in the middle of the park. That was one of the main reasons he failed here as a midfielder, but there is no way to take that uber offensive engine out of him at this point regardless of coaching. Same idea applies to Arthur.

Arthur is at his best when another midfielder is rushing him as he has the ability to evade the aggressor and find the man in open space. Conversely, when there is no pressure on him and the defenders are simply blocking the passing lanes he is rather ineffective and ends up passing the ball to the side or back after dwelling on it for a few seconds.

De Jong is the far superior talent and will walk into the team staking claim to the final midfield spot alongside Rakitic and Busquets. Vidal will come off the bench since he offers buckets of energy and running. This leaves Arthur in a precarious spot. He must drastically improve and round out his game to get considerable minutes next season.

 

[Zidane82]

Valverde is a limited coach, but it's ridiculous to use him as the scapegoat for all the problems our squad has.

The simple fact of the matter is that Arthur has always been a very limited player going forward and his only exceptional skill is retaining the ball. That's the very reason why he looks brilliant against the few teams that have bollocks to press us high, while looking mostly invisible against the low blocks we come across more frequently.

He has other limitations as well. His workrate is dire, he has the stamina of a 40 year former pro playing in a charity match, is poor physically, quite slow, a poor defender, rubbish in the air, amongst a host of other shortcomings.

Like BBZ has mentioned quite a few times already his style has remained constant throughout his time at Gremio, the Brazillian National Team and now F.C. Barcelona. So is it truly Valverde's fault Arthur doesn't have the instinct to make killer passes? After a certain age instincts cannot be coached out of a player. Coutinho for instance was programmed to always go forward and attack even and could not hold back when deployed in the middle of the park. That was one of the main reasons he failed here as a midfielder, but there is no way to take that uber offensive engine out of him at this point regardless of coaching. Same idea applies to Arthur.

Arthur is at his best when another midfielder is rushing him as he has the ability to evade the aggressor and find the man in open space. Conversely, when there is no pressure on him and the defenders are simply blocking the passing lanes he is rather ineffective and ends up passing the ball to the side or back after dwelling on it for a few seconds.

De Jong is the far superior talent and will walk into the team staking claim to the final midfield spot alongside Rakitic and Busquets. Vidal will come off the bench since he offers buckets of energy and running. This leaves Arthur in a precarious spot. He must drastically improve and round out his game to get considerable minutes next season.

It’s not too long ago everyone was saying he was Xavi reborn !!
Even ex players were commenting on the similarities

 

[mc_lovin]

Its pretty weird how opionions have changed. I still think hes an insane talent.

 

[Tackle]

It’s not too long ago everyone was saying he was Xavi reborn !!
Even ex players were commenting on the similarities

Ex-players pour on the praise for every prospect they are asked about in the press. Means feck all. The opinion of former players is utterly worthless. Xavi himself is quite possibly the worst of the lot and my favourite gem from him was when he said Samper was the perfect player to replace him. Yes, the same Samper that was exiled to the Japanese League at age 24.

Arthur is exceptional at retaining the ball and some of his turns and movements look somewhat similar to Xavi, but that's where the comparisons end. Analysts comparing Arthur to Xavi is the epitome of lazy punditry. Similarly every diminutive player from a foreign land that dribbles well is dubbed the "X Country Messi."

 

[Potroh]

So is it truly Valverde's fault Arthur doesn't have the instinct to make killer passes? After a certain age instincts cannot be coached out of a player.

No, this is NOT Valverde's fault as such.
Brazil footballers coming from the CopaCabana or elsewhere, don't play defensive games for fun, almost all great Brazilians are 'born attackers', see Alves, Marcelo, etc.

Perhaps Arthur doesn't have the instinct for "killer passes", but he would most certainly try those - if he was allowed or instructed to do so.
You are absolutely wrong imagining that "after a certain age instincts cannot be coached out of a player".
This is a mere imagination, although most mediocre and robotic defenders and midfielders are ONLY CONFIDENT to do those moves and balls that they practiced a lot and consider to be safe.

Here comes the role of the coach, who knows the good and bad points about a particular player, so he instruct him accordingly.
Barca plays 'possession based football' (whatever that means nowadays) and most probably the midfielders are STRICTLY instructed to rather make a SAFE pass, than taking the risk of loosing the ball.

There are other teams and other styles, other coaches out there, who do NOT mind the lost possession if a risky pass is tried.
Valverde is definitely not among those...

De Jong is the far superior talent and will walk into the team staking claim to the final midfield spot alongside Rakitic and Busquets.

That is what you and most fans hope for.
Nevertheless it's also a possibility that he will be 'problematic' in some areas as well... You'll never know until he does a dozen games here.

 

[manuel blassi]

Just got injured 😕