Ivan Rakitić

[BBZ8800]

Barcelona's midfield has a different air since Rakitić and De Jong share the interior positions, with Busquets guarding them as a pivot. The two blondes ahead of Busquets are leaving statistics never seen. [md] https://t.co/qrXeDiV4hG

statistics never seen ?

MD wrote that they won together 43 balls in the last 3 matches, which hasn't seen in years for Barca.
Each of them won 20 balls in 3 matches, while Arthur needed 13-14 matches for the same numbers.
Frenkie is a beast who can run like crazy.
Raki knows the system and has tons of experience, plus he is also quite good in winning balls and babysitting for Messi and even Roberto.
Busi covers everything behind their backs.

Here is an original article from MD.
** But caution for fans who think that Rakitic is the worst player in the world and that he isn't contributing to anything at Barca, you better skip this article and continue to leave in your own bubble:
https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/fc-barcelona/20191208/472113592988/fc-barcelona-barca-rakitic-de-jong-dupla-estadisticas-pases-buenos.html

The ostensible improvement of the game and the image of FC Barcelona in recent games has coincided with the return to the ownership of Ivan Rakitic. The Croatian, a fixture for Valverde in the last two seasons and ostracized at the beginning of this course, once again has the confidence of the Extremadura coach and is responding to it with spectacular results and statistics.

The midfield of FC Barcelona has a different air since Rakitic and Frenkie de Jong share the area inside the spinal cord. Shielded by Sergio Busquets in the defensive, non-negotiable and effective pivot, the two blondes in the middle of the field are leaving statistics never seen.
The strongest of these is that in the three games that have shared ownership (Dortmund, Atlético and Mallorca) they average 94% of good passes between them. Of the 381 passes they have taken between the two in the three meetings mentioned, they only missed 23.

If in the creative facet their numbers are overwhelming, in the defensive they do not fall short. If we add the ball recoveries of both to the Germans, the rojiblancos and the Balearic Islands, the sum is also overwhelming: 43 ball recoveries (20 by Rakitic and 23 by De Jong).
Now it remains to be seen if these numbers continue to convince Valverde to establish that Busquets-Rakitic-De Jong as a regular trio in the middle of the field and undisputed especially in large parties.

Good passes Rakitic 179 (52 Dortmund, 60 Atlético, 67 Mallorca)
Bad passes Rakitic 13 (5 Dortmund, 2 Atlético, 6 Mallorca)
Good passes from Jong 179 (63 Dortmund, 50 Atlético, 66 Mallorca)
Bad passes De Jong 10 (4 Dortmund, 2 Atlético, 4 Mallorca)
Total good passes Rakiti-De Jong 358
Total bad passes Rakiti-De Jong 23
Rakitic 20 recoveries (6 Dortmund, 6 Atlético, 8 Mallorca)
Recoveries of Jong 23 (12 Dortmund, 7 Atlético, 4 Mallorca)
Total recoveries Rakitic-De Jong 43

Unbelievable.

We're almost in 2020 and there is one guy still trying to claim Rakitic is some sort of a defensive beast that solidifies our team.

As for Sergi Roberto then honestly our attack flows better with him. He will cost us big defensively against great teams in the CL though.

You could say both Roberto and Semedo are mediocre for Barca if they want to win the CL again. One is a total liability against the big dogs defensively while the other guy keep passing the ball backwards like Rakitic and still hasn't figured out the art of looking up while passing or crossing the ball. Makes Jordi Alba look like Andy Robertson at times.

Oh, you are back at Anfield, I see.
Flash news is that they are good for 99% of other matches.

While there aren't any even hints that Frenkie-Arthur duo can work even against Mickey Mouse La Liga teams.
Not due to a coach, but due to their skills which just don't compliment eachother too well.

 

[BBZ8800]

All our poor results this year:

Bilbao 1-0 Barcelona, midfield of Roberto, Frenkie, Aleña (rakitic sub at 45min mark).

Osasuna 2-2 Barcelona, midfield 3 of roberto, busi and Frenkie. Arthur subbed in 53 mins, scores, nearly sets up another, frenkie taken off min 82.

Granada 2-0 Barcelona, midfield 3 of Rakitic, Frenkie, Roberto (raki subbed off at 60 min).

Levante 3-1 Barcelona, midfield 3 of Arthur, Frenkie, Vidal. Arthur vidal subbed off at 65min (approx).

Barcelona 0-0 Slavia Prague, midfield pivot of busi and Frenkie with vidal as an attacking mid, Rakitic subbed on for busi at 68min.

How you can look at those poor results with the lineups and substitutes and conclude it's Arthur-Frenkie's fault is like me saying 2+2 = red. They haven't played with each other a long enough time to say they're going to be amazing together or not. Really read what I've said there, what it's doing is taking a moderate level-headed view of things, not "ARTHUR-FRENKIE = XAVI-INIESTA" but also not "ARTHUR-FRENKIE = dogshit!" opinions between these two are actually extremely common here. Frenkie was the best midfielder in the champions league last year and Arthur was the best midfielder at the copa america last year, that is not nothing. "But they were in a system that really benefited them". Yes, yes they were and one became the best midfielder in the champions league, the other for BRAZIL, we should be doing everything we can to try and push these two and create a system that benefits them again. If that is incompatible so be it but we have not even nearly tried to create a decent system for them and they've still done an ok job.

You forgot to add CL matches:
Dortmund away.
When we played at home vs Dortmund, we totally dominated with Raki-Busi-Frenkie.
Away with Arthur-Frenkie we looked like shit, and we didn't create a single chance.
Now, if you will pull a card with the answer: but we suck on away CL matches since always, you can't blame Frenkie-Arthur duo.
Wait, wait, wait then: then how come that Rakitic is blamed for AWAY disaster at Anfield, and Arthur-Frenkie can't be blamed for a similar thing in CL this season? The only difference is that we survived in the end, due to EV going back to basics.

Further, home match against Inter.
We were almost 0:3 or 0:4 down after 30 minutes.
Away to Slavia, eaten alive.
Or Eibar 0:3 win. We won but the midfield was MIA the whole match, it was an open match without midfield from any of these two teams.

So, yes, the sample of Frenkie-Arthur playing together is slightly bigger than what you posted.

 

[Rory]

You forgot to add CL matches:
Dortmund away.
When we played at home vs Dortmund, we totally dominated with Raki-Busi-Frenkie.
Away with Arthur-Frenkie we looked like shit, and we didn't create a single chance.
Now, if you will pull a card with the answer: but we suck on away CL matches since always, you can't blame Frenkie-Arthur duo.
Wait, wait, wait then: then how come that Rakitic is blamed for AWAY disaster at Anfield, and Arthur-Frenkie can't be blamed for a similar thing in CL this season? The only difference is that we survived in the end, due to EV going back to basics.

Further, home match against Inter.
We were almost 0:3 or 0:4 down after 30 minutes.
Away to Slavia, eaten alive.
Or Eibar 0:3 win. We won but the midfield was MIA the whole match, it was an open match without midfield from any of these two teams.

So, yes, the sample of Frenkie-Arthur playing together is slightly bigger than what you posted.

I said results not performance. 1 point at Dortmund isn't a bad result. We beat Inter 2-1, and beat Slavia, I said poor results and you know that.

 

[Rory]

If it's okay for the past 2.5 years for us to play like shit with Rakitic-busquets but get results then you have to apply that same thing to anyone else

 

[mc_lovin]

He gets linked to Juventus again with Rugani/Bernadeschi the other way. He convinced me enough recently to want him to stay till summer, but I dont know how much the coaching staff reconcidered his situation. He was pretty much done at one point, but Arthurs unreliable fitness (and personal problems?) gave Rakitic new life.

We should stay as far away from Rugani and Bernadeschi as possible as well.

 

[BBZ8800]

I said results not performance. 1 point at Dortmund isn't a bad result. We beat Inter 2-1, and beat Slavia, I said poor results and you know that.

If it's okay for the past 2.5 years for us to play like shit with Rakitic-busquets but get results then you have to apply that same thing to anyone else

It is subjective.
For me, Frenkie-Arthur duo was the worst Barca since... well, 2003'.
Rakitic-Busi weren't spectacular, but we were never as lost on a field as we were under Frenkie-Arthur duo this season.
1. in terms of results, a start of this season was the worst ever since... well, 2003'.
2. in terms being all over the place, we were this bad only in Lucho's last season when MSN+midfield were totally lost in all areas and in ...well: 2000-2003'

So, sorry for crashing your dreams, but what Frenkie-Arthur AS A DUO offered this season was worse than anything what Busi-Raki were offering for years, especially in 2 EV's years.

I guess that in the eyes of majority of fans: you have an idea=that anything will be an improvement.
But I see a current Busi-Raki vs Arthur-Frenkie duo more like: Suarez is good in some areas, but bad in others.
He will win you La Liga, but won't be good enough for a CL.

Then, you have other options like Malcom last season or Griezz this season.
On paper, they should be better than Suarez since "everyone would be better than him", but in reality, they are a worse fit for our team.

So, in your heads it is:
1. Busi-Raki are meh
2. but Frenkie-Arthur could be 10 out 10, and a safe bet

In reality, it is closer to:
1. Busi-Raki are meh
2. Frenkie-Arthur duo is even worse with some horrible flaws when paired together

Also, take into the account that our fans/forum always give too much credits to young players/La Masia players/Forum's new favorites.
You guys needed too long to realize and accept:
1. why Dembele won't be a Barca's key player for the next 10 years and why he was benched since his early days at Barca. NOT due "a stupid EV" but due to obvious limitations
2. why Malcom wasn't given too many chances and you guys had a lot of faith in him, both as a LW, RW and even a CF ("he can't be worse than Suarez")
3. Mina in his 6 Months here
4. Todibo this season
5. Alena/Puig
6. now Arthur-Frenkie duo

If a team plays bad with that duo on a field=it is EV's fault.
If a team suddenly plays very good without that duo=it is a pure luck, we played against horrible teams or Messi was on fire.

Regarding Arthur, since for me he is the most overhyped player by our fanbase in the last 10 years, look at the numbers from 2019:
Played well in January and February.
In March, he started to get benched by EV in all matches.
At home, he was subbed twice at half time against Espanyol and Sociedad.
Then he played only garbage minutes till the end of a season and didn't play at Anfield.
Then he was subbed again at a halftime in a CDR final vs Valencia.

Then he played Copa America with Brasil and had a long rest after rest.
He missed Barca's opening matches this season due to a rest and not being ready.
Then he played:
Osasuna 2:2, 37 minutes
Valencia 5:2, 73 minutes
Dortmund 0:0, 90 minutes
Villareal 2:1, 90 minutes
Getafe 2:0, 90 minutes
Inter 2:1, 90 minutes
Sevilla 4:0, 65 minutes
Eibar 3:0, 71 minutes
Slavia 2:1, 84 minutes

So, he played 8 and a half matches in September and October.
And after Slavia's away match, he has disappeared again.

Look at our fixtures after that:
Valladolid 5:1, --
Levante 1:3, 66 minutes
Slavia 0:0, --
Celta 4:1, 90 minutes
Leganes 2:1, --
Borussia 3:1, --
Atletico 1:0, 73 minutes
Mallorca 5:2, --

Played 3 times in the last 8 matches. Subbed twice.

So, today is December of 2019.
Since March of 2019, how many good matches has Arthur offered for Barca?
He didn't play at all in a spring.
And whenever he played, he was subbed at a halftime (Espanyol home, Sociedad hom, CDR final).
This season, he missed a start, then played 8 and half matches.
Then more or less disappeared just in like season with exactly the same problems:
1. his form dropped
2. his stamina got worse and he had to be subbed in almost every match (in his last 10 matches for Barca and Brasil, he played only one match for 90 minutes. He was subbed 9 times).
For example, Frenkie played for 90 minutes in 6 out of 10 last matches.
3. he can't play 2 matches per week (or 3 matches) due to stamina problems
4. and now you have more and more tiny off field problems: partying with Neymar, EV being angry again a few weeks later at him for partying all night and posting photos on social media, then a fight with Messi during Brasil-Argentina match and lately STD problems.

So, basically, in the last 10 Months, Arthur offered 8 and a half matches.
And during other Months=it was all big nothing or being extremely hot and cold.
But when someone dares to ask: are you really, really sure that it is a coincidence that our problems this season started when we started to play with Semedo, Frenkie-Arthur? You guys lose your heads. Because you have set your dreams to those players and you can't cope with them being not as good as you hoped for.

Remember the last season, people said that Arthur's form or stamina dropped due to injuries.
But then, Suarez plays with a broken knee for years etc.

A few posts above, I talked about chemistry between Busi-Raki and now even between Raki-Busi-Frenkie, and McLovin told me that it will get better over time.
How will it get better when Arthur is always injured, or he has off field problems, or he is partying with Neymar and tons of girls.
And when he actually plays, our midfield is all over the place.

He dropped to a 5th pick at the end of a last season (Busi, Raki, Vidal, Alena, Arthur).
In the last 2 Months, he dropped to a 5th pick again (Frenkie, Busi, Raki, Vidal, Arthur).
Look at our last 8 matches, Valladolid, Levante, Slavia home, Celta, Leganes, Borussia home, Atletico, Mallorca, minutes total:
644 Frenkie
468 Busquets
324 Rakitic
312 Vidal
229 Arthur

A guy offered Month and a half of good football in the last 10 Months, and you would sell Rakitic, Vidal (and even Busi) so that he and new unproven kids could get an unlimited amount of chances.
Because, as always: Busi-Raki-Vidal lost on Anfield.
And if you lose on Anfield (even though Liverpool played in 2 CL finals and will end with 20 points advantage over City), your career is dead.

Sounds perfectly logical.

 

[mc_lovin]

The sample size is ridiculously small though. There are good arguments for both of them. But you just have your opinion set in stone since day 1. I would rather wait and see, we are not even half way through the season.

Talentwise (for me) Arthur is just a much better player, but talent is not enough. He seems to have the classic problems young guys have with tons of money and fame. Hopefully he matures enough and makes it work. You may think hes not all that and maybe you are right, but then again you were one of those approximately 20% of guys on the internet who didnt immediately spot Frenkies potential, so for now I would rather trust my own eyes (than your stats and biases).

 

[Rory]

It is subjective.
For me, Frenkie-Arthur duo was the worst Barca since... well, 2003'.
Rakitic-Busi weren't spectacular, but we were never as lost on a field as we were under Frenkie-Arthur duo this season.
1. in terms of results, a start of this season was the worst ever since... well, 2003'.
2. in terms being all over the place, we were this bad only in Lucho's last season when MSN+midfield were totally lost in all areas and in ...well: 2000-2003'

So, sorry for crashing your dreams, but what Frenkie-Arthur AS A DUO offered this season was worse than anything what Busi-Raki were offering for years, especially in 2 EV's years.

I guess that in the eyes of majority of fans: you have an idea=that anything will be an improvement.
But I see a current Busi-Raki vs Arthur-Frenkie duo more like: Suarez is good in some areas, but bad in others.
He will win you La Liga, but won't be good enough for a CL.

Then, you have other options like Malcom last season or Griezz this season.
On paper, they should be better than Suarez since "everyone would be better than him", but in reality, they are a worse fit for our team.

So, in your heads it is:
1. Busi-Raki are meh
2. but Frenkie-Arthur could be 10 out 10, and a safe bet

In reality, it is closer to:
1. Busi-Raki are meh
2. Frenkie-Arthur duo is even worse with some horrible flaws when paired together

Also, take into the account that our fans/forum always give too much credits to young players/La Masia players/Forum's new favorites.
You guys needed too long to realize and accept:
1. why Dembele won't be a Barca's key player for the next 10 years and why he was benched since his early days at Barca. NOT due "a stupid EV" but due to obvious limitations
2. why Malcom wasn't given too many chances and you guys had a lot of faith in him, both as a LW, RW and even a CF ("he can't be worse than Suarez")
3. Mina in his 6 Months here
4. Todibo this season
5. Alena/Puig
6. now Arthur-Frenkie duo

If a team plays bad with that duo on a field=it is EV's fault.
If a team suddenly plays very good without that duo=it is a pure luck, we played against horrible teams or Messi was on fire.

Regarding Arthur, since for me he is the most overhyped player by our fanbase in the last 10 years, look at the numbers from 2019:
Played well in January and February.
In March, he started to get benched by EV in all matches.
At home, he was subbed twice at half time against Espanyol and Sociedad.
Then he played only garbage minutes till the end of a season and didn't play at Anfield.
Then he was subbed again at a halftime in a CDR final vs Valencia.

Then he played Copa America with Brasil and had a long rest after rest.
He missed Barca's opening matches this season due to a rest and not being ready.
Then he played:
Osasuna 2:2, 37 minutes
Valencia 5:2, 73 minutes
Dortmund 0:0, 90 minutes
Villareal 2:1, 90 minutes
Getafe 2:0, 90 minutes
Inter 2:1, 90 minutes
Sevilla 4:0, 65 minutes
Eibar 3:0, 71 minutes
Slavia 2:1, 84 minutes

So, he played 8 and a half matches in September and October.
And after Slavia's away match, he has disappeared again.

Look at our fixtures after that:
Valladolid 5:1, --
Levante 1:3, 66 minutes
Slavia 0:0, --
Celta 4:1, 90 minutes
Leganes 2:1, --
Borussia 3:1, --
Atletico 1:0, 73 minutes
Mallorca 5:2, --

Played 3 times in the last 8 matches. Subbed twice.

So, today is December of 2019.
Since March of 2019, how many good matches has Arthur offered for Barca?
He didn't play at all in a spring.
And whenever he played, he was subbed at a halftime (Espanyol home, Sociedad hom, CDR final).
This season, he missed a start, then played 8 and half matches.
Then more or less disappeared just in like season with exactly the same problems:
1. his form dropped
2. his stamina got worse and he had to be subbed in almost every match (in his last 10 matches for Barca and Brasil, he played only one match for 90 minutes. He was subbed 9 times).
For example, Frenkie played for 90 minutes in 6 out of 10 last matches.
3. he can't play 2 matches per week (or 3 matches) due to stamina problems
4. and now you have more and more tiny off field problems: partying with Neymar, EV being angry again a few weeks later at him for partying all night and posting photos on social media, then a fight with Messi during Brasil-Argentina match and lately STD problems.

So, basically, in the last 10 Months, Arthur offered 8 and a half matches.
And during other Months=it was all big nothing or being extremely hot and cold.
But when someone dares to ask: are you really, really sure that it is a coincidence that our problems this season started when we started to play with Semedo, Frenkie-Arthur? You guys lose your heads. Because you have set your dreams to those players and you can't cope with them being not as good as you hoped for.

Remember the last season, people said that Arthur's form or stamina dropped due to injuries.
But then, Suarez plays with a broken knee for years etc.

A few posts above, I talked about chemistry between Busi-Raki and now even between Raki-Busi-Frenkie, and McLovin told me that it will get better over time.
How will it get better when Arthur is always injured, or he has off field problems, or he is partying with Neymar and tons of girls.
And when he actually plays, our midfield is all over the place.

He dropped to a 5th pick at the end of a last season (Busi, Raki, Vidal, Alena, Arthur).
In the last 2 Months, he dropped to a 5th pick again (Frenkie, Busi, Raki, Vidal, Arthur).
Look at our last 8 matches, Valladolid, Levante, Slavia home, Celta, Leganes, Borussia home, Atletico, Mallorca, minutes total:
644 Frenkie
468 Busquets
324 Rakitic
312 Vidal
229 Arthur

A guy offered Month and a half of good football in the last 10 Months, and you would sell Rakitic, Vidal (and even Busi) so that he and new unproven kids could get an unlimited amount of chances.
Because, as always: Busi-Raki-Vidal lost on Anfield.
And if you lose on Anfield (even though Liverpool played in 2 CL finals and will end with 20 points advantage over City), your career is dead.

Sounds perfectly logical.

From wikipedia; A straw man is a form of argument and an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while actually refuting an argument that was not presented by that opponent. One who engages in this fallacy is said to be "attacking a straw man".

Done discussing with you, all you ever do is the above. Others warned me and I should have listened.

 

[Raketa10]

To be fair the best midfield formation we used this year was Busi-Raki-De Jong. Of course it has many flaws and I am far from happy with Busi and Raki but unfortunately Arthur showed nothing so far. Apart from the lack of stamina he has a great problem with consistency. To be fair I am still not sure what his preferred position is. He is not a CM player but he is also not a CDM so what the hell should he play?! He is bad in defense and he doesn't contribute much in attack. Some people tend to compare him with Xavi but his forward passing abilities were out of this world compared to Arthur's. Maybe it's problem in Valverde and maybe he needs more time but IMHO he didn't improve at all during the last year and a half. If he can't bench Busi and Raki in their thirties than I don't know what to think about him anymore. I expected much more from him.

 

[BBZ8800]

but then again you were one of those approximately 20% of guys on the internet who didnt immediately spot Frenkies potential, so for now I would rather trust my own eyes (than your stats and biases).

I am cautious about every single young player due to:
1. Internet era where everyone is on a palm of your hand due to streams, youtube and stats.
About Frenkie, I didn't think that he is not good.
I had concerns about a 80m pricetag, him flirting with Psg, his bad matches against physcal teams last season and due to an obvious history of only 20-25% of young superstars making it here at Barca.

But still, Frenkie is more like an allrounder with more different virtues than Arthur:
Defending: Frenkie yes, Arthur no
Midfield: both yes
Attack: none
Press resistance: both
Pace: Frenkie
Stamina: Frenkie
Height: Frenkie
Being a professional: Frenkie

In short, I was sceptical about some things about Frenkie plus about his age and a history of young players failing at Barca and Real.
About Arthur, since his Gremio days, I haven't seen a single good trait in his game except press resistance, Xavi's turn and recycling possession with sterile passes till death.
Yet, about flaws you have: poor defending, poor in the attacking third, poor pace, poor stamina, poor height and aerial battles and lately even questionable professionalism.

Lots of guys here are calling him the best or the second best midfielder in the world, yet in his 18 Months at Barca, we got 2-3 Months of good form in the last season and 500 minutes this season.
With months and months of mysterious injuries, stamina problems, off field problems and mysterious matches with him being left out of a squad in between.

A question, think about this:
1. Why is Arthur subbed off all the time and Frenkie is subbed off rarely?
2. Why is Frenkie never left out of a squad and Arthur is left out often?
3. Why has Arthur fell down in a pecking order for the 2nd time in the last 12 Months?
Yet, Frenkie is the 1st pick in every match.
4. Why did we hear rumors about Dembele's off field problems all the time, which turned out to be true in the end, and lately we hear all sorts of rumors about Arthur (partying, Neymar, social media problems, canabis, STDs), yet you never hear these rumors about Busi or Frenkie, for example?
Do you think that all od this is a coincidence?

You will find the answer in upcoming Months.

 

[Rory]

To be fair the best midfield formation we used this year was Busi-Raki-De Jong. Of course it has many flaws and I am far from happy with Busi and Raki but unfortunately Arthur showed nothing so far. Apart from the lack of stamina he has a great problem with consistency. To be fair I am still not sure what his preferred position is. He is not a CM player but he is also not a CDM so what the hell should he play?! He is bad in defense and he doesn't contribute much in attack. Some people tend to compare him with Xavi but his forward passing abilities were out of this world compared to Arthur's. Maybe it's problem in Valverde and maybe he needs more time but IMHO he didn't improve at all during the last year and a half. If he can't bench Busi and Raki in their thirties than I don't know what to think about him anymore. I expected much more from him.

I think our best game was obviously the 5-2 Mallorca game and the 3-1 Dortmund game. Don't know how much of that was purely the midfield. Messi is finally in top gear after being injured. Griezmann is starting to click a little bit more as he has more experience in the squad and gets to know people better, same for Frenkie. I don't think Arthur is the next all time great for barca or anything close to that, I just think he's shown he can be good enough and sometimes very good. He's improved his attacking game for sure with his early season goal/assists contributions. Consistency is an issue for him for sure, if it's just little niggling injuries causing it then maybe that can be sorted out but if it's lifestyle then I'll happily show him the door.

 

[mc_lovin]

A question, think about this:
1. Why is Arthur subbed off all the time and Frenkie is subbed off rarely?
2. Why is Frenkie never left out of a squad and Arthur is left out often?
3. Why has Arthur fell down in a pecking order for the 2nd time in the last 12 Months?
Yet, Frenkie is the 1st pick in every match.
4. Why did we hear rumors about Dembele's off field problems all the time, which turned out to be true in the end, and lately we hear all sorts of rumors about Arthur (partying, Neymar, social media problems, canabis, STDs), yet you never hear these rumors about Busi or Frenkie, for example?
Do you think that all od this is a coincidence?

You will find the answer in upcoming Months.

I wont comment on your first few random paragraphs, because you cant rate players by random categories and make it binary. To your questions:

1. Same reason why Iniesta got subbed off and Xavi didnt for example. Most coaches tend to keep their more defensive CM on the field.
2-4. Same answer really: Arthur seems to have problems outside of football (for an athlet, not a young men in general). Noone is denying that. The problem is your extremist viewpoint. Try a more balanced approach.

 

[devo901]

To be fair the best midfield formation we used this year was Busi-Raki-De Jong. Of course it has many flaws and I am far from happy with Busi and Raki but unfortunately Arthur showed nothing so far. Apart from the lack of stamina he has a great problem with consistency. To be fair I am still not sure what his preferred position is. He is not a CM player but he is also not a CDM so what the hell should he play?! He is bad in defense and he doesn't contribute much in attack. Some people tend to compare him with Xavi but his forward passing abilities were out of this world compared to Arthur's. Maybe it's problem in Valverde and maybe he needs more time but IMHO he didn't improve at all during the last year and a half. If he can't bench Busi and Raki in their thirties than I don't know what to think about him anymore. I expected much more from him.

I do not agree - I have seen games, were I had way better opinion of arthur then raki. Average raki this fall, never reached the level of avg. Arthur.
A. is able to maintain possessesion under pressure + runs more (my feeling). MAYBE raki has more touch when it comes to passing, also last pass.

But the amount of balls lost of raki was not even funny anymore, he panics and ball gets lost...(though in the last 2 games it got better). I really like him and wish that he finds back to his 2016 form but right now, no.

 

[Nazario1985]

I do not agree - I have seen games, were I had way better opinion of arthur then raki. Average raki this fall, never reached the level of avg. Arthur.
A. is able to maintain possessesion under pressure + runs more (my feeling). MAYBE raki has more touch when it comes to passing, also last pass.

But the amount of balls lost of raki was not even funny anymore, he panics and ball gets lost...(though in the last 2 games it got better). I really like him and wish that he finds back to his 2016 form but right now, no.

They have different game style. Arthur is not a direct sub for Raki & Vise Versa.

When one replace the other in the field the schema in midfield changes (FDJ drops or go up / Busi pivote or Arthur ...etc)

EV should use them both depending on the opponent & what we are chasing while keeping them fresh & in good conditions

 

[BusiTheKing]

so the criticism consensus has been that he'll be good enough for La Liga matches we dominate anyway but that he crumbles in tough fixtures, and people are using a game against Mallorca at Camp Nou to refute that??