Arthur

[serghei]

Rakitic is the very definition of a squad player for a team of the caliber of a Barca or Madrid. He only starts for us because midfield is our weakest area.

 

[xXKonan]

Rakitic is a good player but he's also limited as well.

Nothing wrong with saying that either as he has his own strengths and weaknesses. His main weaknesses show up even more when he plays in a regular 4-3-3, his mobility isn't as good as it once was and his passing with the ball under pressure isn't all that great and his creativity not great either.

 

[Andrew M]

You’ve just said in the Busquets thread that Rakitic has been the better player this season which is clearly not the case so this post doesn’t surprise me at all.

I’ve already explained why Rakitic is limited. MANY TIMES... But I’ll repeat it again just for fun.

He can’t set tempo, can’t turn into or away from pressure (too many touches), he is late with his passes and struggles to move the ball forward.

He only excels in the defensive phase. That’s where he is in his element.

Answer me this... Has Rakitic played as a 10 for Barcelona? If the answer is no then your argument is moot.

So you think we can play with Busquets as the only defensive mid in a 433 for big games? Have you seen his recovery runs lately? I've seen old ladies running to catch the bus make up more ground.

 

[MessiCam]

So you think we can play with Busquets as the only defensive mid in a 433 for big games? Have you seen his recovery runs lately? I've seen old ladies running to catch the bus make up more ground.

Yet, Busquets still makes more interceptions, tackles and wins more duels than that workhorse Rakitic.

Busquets strength, even Peps, was never speed or mobility but rather his positional awareness and anticipation (knowing how a play will develop). No amount of speed or running can make up for that.

 

[Andrew M]

Yet, Busquets still makes more interceptions, tackles and wins more duels than that workhorse Rakitic.

Busquets strength, even Peps, was never speed or mobility but rather his positional awareness and anticipation (knowing how a play will develop). No amount of speed or running can make up for that.

Yes I agree his positional intelligence has always been great, but if it was all about the mind Pep would still be playing. You need to be able to get around the pitch if you're the only one responsible for the dirty work. We can't have two flamboyant, attacking players next to him that won't work hard, like Coutinho. Who on the market is really that much better than Rakitic for this job right now within budgetary reason?

 

[BBZ8800]

There was a ton of talks on this forum how we had turtles in midfield.
And then, some guys are putting all their faith in a new, unproven kid, Arthur, who is currently as slow as Rakitic, for example.
Imagine Busi-Arthur-someone midfield in a CL, with Messi not defending, Dembele can't defending, Luis not defending.

But the problem is: Rakitic is slow now, when he is almost 30.
When he was young, he had an average pace.
He lost his pace over years.

Now, for comparison, take a look at this:
This is a match from 2008, Rakitic was 20 years old then.
A current Arthur is almost 22.
So, a current Arthur is 2 years older than Rakitic in this video.
Rakitic here was dominating as a kid in a NT match.
He was a CAM back then, with more creativity, more pace.
Fast forward 8-9 years, and he looks like a player (at Barca) who is scared to make a single pass.
That is because you have: weaker leagues, strong leagues, NT matches and then: Real, Barca and Bayern.
NOTHING can be compared with playing at Barca.
If a player plays well at Gremio, who cares? It means nothing. We will only test him when he'll play for Barca.
If a player plays well for a Croatian NT team at World cups and Euros, it means nothing.
At Barca he may look as if he is scared.

So, anyway, take a look how Rakitic who was 2 years younger than a current Arthur looked at NT matches back then.
Faster, stronger, a CAM, passing, scoring.
So guys, slow down with your estimations how Arthur will bench Rakitic after 10 matches, lol.
He hasn't played a single minute at Europe yet, lol.

Anyway, a video from 2008':

so, we have Rakitic, who played 100 of NT matches, he was good in NT matches aged 20, played 10 years for Basel, Schalke, Sevilla and Barca and he is still average at Barca.
And then you think that a kid with 0 minutes in Europe will outclass this guy with 10 years at the highest level... just because he looks good in a Brasilian league with funky defenses, with tons of space and time for every move.
A very optimistic approach, tbh.

 

[MessiCam]

Yes I agree his positional intelligence has always been great, but if it was all about the mind Pep would still be playing. You need to be able to get around the pitch if you're the only one responsible for the dirty work. We can't have two flamboyant, attacking players next to him that won't work hard, like Coutinho. Who on the market is really that much better than Rakitic for this job right now within budgetary reason?

Barça don’t play with 2 attacking CM’s dear sir. One is your deep lying playmaker (Xavi) or a box to box (Rakitic/van Bommel/Keita) with the other being the attacking option (Iniesta/Deco).

What you’re referring to is the problem that Man City have at present. They don’t have somebody that can set tempo and thus for all their attacking qualities they lack control.

Arthur, like I said previously, is very good in the defensive phase too but where he excels is his ability to hold the ball under pressure as well as carry it upfield. When he is in possession you can drink your beer in peace. He is so composed.

 

[MessiCam]

There was a ton of talks on this forum how we had turtles in midfield.
And then, some guys are putting all their faith in a new, unproven kid, Arthur, who is currently as slow as Rakitic, for example.
Imagine Busi-Arthur-someone midfield in a CL, with Messi not defending, Dembele can't defending, Luis not defending.

But the problem is: Rakitic is slow now, when he is almost 30.
When he was young, he had an average pace.
He lost his pace over years.

Now, for comparison, take a look at this:
This is a match from 2008, Rakitic was 20 years old then.
A current Arthur is almost 22.
So, a current Arthur is 2 years older than Rakitic in this video.
Rakitic here was dominating as a kid in a NT match.
He was a CAM back then, with more creativity, more pace.
Fast forward 8-9 years, and he looks like a player (at Barca) who is scared to make a single pass.
That is because you have: weaker leagues, strong leagues, NT matches and then: Real, Barca and Bayern.
NOTHING can be compared with playing at Barca.
If a player plays well at Gremio, who cares? It means nothing. We will only test him when he'll play for Barca.
If a player plays well for a Croatian NT team at World cups and Euros, it means nothing.
At Barca he may look as if he is scared.

So, anyway, take a look how Rakitic who was 2 years younger than a current Arthur looked at NT matches back then.
Faster, stronger, a CAM, passing, scoring.
So guys, slow down with your estimations how Arthur will bench Rakitic after 10 matches, lol.
He hasn't played a single minute at Europe yet, lol.

Anyway, a video from 2008':

so, we have Rakitic, who played 100 of NT matches, he was good in NT matches aged 20, played 10 years for Basel, Schalke, Sevilla and Barca and he is still average at Barca.
And then you think that a kid with 0 minutes in Europe will outclass this guy with 10 years at the highest level... just because he looks good in a Brasilian league with funky defenses, with tons of space and time for every move.
A very optimistic approach, tbh.

Let me get this right. You want to compare getting into the Brazil national team with getting into the Croatian national team? And then to top it all off you put up a youtube compilation of Croatia vs Slovenia and have the audacity to trash talk the Brazilian League. Ok.

 

[Barcaman]

"getting into Croatian team". Rakitic plays for Croatia for ages and is a starter. Arthur is nothing for Brazil.

Also, Rakitic proven himself in best league in the world and in biggest of matches.


Now kindly walk away.

 

[Raketa10]

Let me get this right. You want to compare getting into the Brazil national team with getting into the Croatian national team? And then to top it all off you put up a youtube compilation of Croatia vs Slovenia and have the audacity to trash talk the Brazilian League. Ok.

Sorry when was the last time Croatia lost 7-1 to Germany while playing at home?

 

[MessiCam]

"getting into Croatian team". Rakitic plays for Croatia for ages and is a starter. Arthur is nothing for Brazil.

Also, Rakitic proven himself in best league in the world and in biggest of matches.


Now kindly walk away.

Which national team do you think is easier to get into? Do you think Rakitic would make the starting 11 of the Brazil team with players like Coutinho, Renato August, Paulinho, Casemiro, Fernandinho, Douglas Costa around?

It’s easy to say National team but you forget which national team...

 

[Nothanks]

when has croatia won 5 world cups? this argument doesn't make sense

 

[Joan]

Which national team do you think is easier to get into? Do you think Rakitic would make the starting 11 of the Brazil team with players like Coutinho, Renato August, Paulinho, Casemiro, Fernandinho, Douglas Costa around?

It’s easy to say National team but you forget which national team...

Renato Augusto and Paulinho. Brazil Cms. Don't bring others in the discussion. And yes, of course he would.

By the way, Arthur hasn't made it in their national team yet.

 

[MessiCam]

when has croatia won 5 world cups? this argument doesn't make sense

Shhhhh! Rakitic plays for them and is a workhorse in defence.

 

[MessiCam]

Renato Augusto and Paulinho. Brazil Cms. Don't bring others in the discussion. And yes, of course he would.

By the way, Arthur hasn't made it in their national team yet.

For the type of football Brazil play... No fucking chance. They hardly if ever play double pivots!

And yes Arthur has been named in their squad before. Didn’t get minutes though.