Arthur

[SirBalon]

There was a signed agreement made between FC Barcelona and Arthur Melo about four months back but the agreement with his current club Grêmio was signed for an official signing in the January window.

Due to the retirement of Andrés Iniesta from competitive football (all my respects to the Japanese league) once the season had ended, Barça have found themselves in a situation of desperation to change the deal with Grêmio and try to bring in the marvellous young misfielder this summer.

According to every Spanish sports medium the official announcement is imminent and a question of hours due to Barcelona directors flying out to Brazil to get the deal done and finalised. 

If and when it’s made official, this looks to be one of Barcelona’s best signings in years. 

https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/fc-barcelona/20180704/45646069030/el-fichaje-de-arthur-gremio-por-seis-anos-al-caer.html?utm_source=app_browser&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=noticias_de_mundo_deportivo,noticias_de_futbol&utm_content=fc_barcelona%3A_el_barca_llega_a_un_acuerdo_para_fichar_al_brasileno_arthur_melo_para_las_proximas_6_temporadas&utm_term=20180704

[El Profesor]

Finally.

@SirBalon this is the shirt I really wanted to see him wear this June/July: 

 

 

[SirBalon]

6 hours ago, El Profesor said:

Finally.

@SirBalon this is the shirt I really wanted to see him wear this June/July: 

 

 

I still can’t believe it everytime I think he was left behind. It’s not like when a coach leaves an attacking option at home because he either has too many or the one he’s not selected doesn’t fit into the scheme of things the coach has planned. 

Arthur for me would’ve completed what’s probably missing from this Brazil side even if Brazil end up victorious. 

[SirBalon]

Xavi has given his blessing to the imminent official announcement of Arthur moving to Barça from Brazilian club Grêmio. At the same time criticising FC Barcelona's signing policy in recent times.

Xavi had this to say about the 21 year old...

"Finally a foreign player being signed that actually fits into what Barcelona need.  Too many speculative signings have been made in recent times without looking into the necessities of the team's midfield. The amount of pressure having been put on Busquets has been tremendous and I always thought during that time it would've been better to have brought in someone from La Masia.  But Arthur really is perfect for Barcelona because his analytical football is something that teams like Barcelona need.  He along with one that was left to escape to Germany (Thiago Alcántara) are possibly the only ones that understand this type of football in a vital area of the pitch for Barça."

[Carnivore Chris]

Would Arthur, Busquets and Coutinho be compatible do you think? Along with a front 3 of Messi, Suárez and Dembele? @El Profesor

[El Profesor]

1 hour ago, The Rebel CRS said:

Would Arthur, Busquets and Coutinho be compatible do you think? Along with a front 3 of Messi, Suárez and Dembele? @El Profesor

Yes, Chris. Arthur is what we call here a "segundo volante." He is not an attacking midfielder, he is a central/defensive midfielder. 

Despite his short stature, Arthur is very strong and he protects the ball very well, it´s very difficult to steal the ball from him. His passes, how he controls the rhythm of the game and his turns are a thing of beauty. 

 

It´s only highlights, but it gives a good idea of his style: 

 

 

[Cicero]

2 minutes ago, El Profesor said:

 

Despite hus short stature, Arthur is very strong and he protects the ball very well, it´s very difficult to steal the ball from him. His passes, how he controls the rhythm of the game and his turns are a thing of beauty. 

So he's basically Xavi? 

Signing makes sense for Barca. Still don't understand Coutinho's signing at all though. 

 

[El Profesor]

12 minutes ago, Cicero said:

So he's basically Xavi? 

Signing makes sense for Barca. Still don't understand Coutinho's signing at all though. 

 

Yes. He has a long way to go, but the styles are similar.

Arthur always mentioned his idol in football is Iniesta and that he modeled his game inspired in Iniesta. This is why his dream move was always to Barcelona and also the reason of his spanish style.

A curious thing is that he is from the state of Goiás, a place that hardly develops top football players. 

 

[Stan]

1 hour ago, Cicero said:

So he's basically Xavi? 

Signing makes sense for Barca. Still don't understand Coutinho's signing at all though. 

 

how come?

[Cicero]

Just now, Stan said:

how come?

Just goes against Barca's tradition really. Seems like a needless signing when they have talented prospects in Suarez and Alena. Two players who will surely flourish elsewhere. 

 

[El Profesor]

Arthur and Grêmio have just confirmed his departure.

 

 

[El Profesor]

It´s finally official, Arthur is a Barcelona player. Take good care of my boy, culés. 

 

 

[Dave]

What's with Brazillian footballers and boring names?

[Guest]

1 hour ago, The Palace Fan said:

What's with Brazillian footballers and boring names?

Brazilian's have very long names, so they cut them down to make it easier for certain people. Personally, I find them hard to distinguish. How many Fred's, Luan's, Tim's, Joao Paulo's have we had in football? 

[Cicero]

 

[Dalmore]

On 7/6/2018 at 16:26, El Profesor said:

Yes, Chris. Arthur is what we call here a "segundo volante." He is not an attacking midfielder, he is a central/defensive midfielder. 

Despite his short stature, Arthur is very strong and he protects the ball very well, it´s very difficult to steal the ball from him. His passes, how he controls the rhythm of the game and his turns are a thing of beauty. 

 

It´s only highlights, but it gives a good idea of his style: 

 

 

wrong video dude!

his best moment surely was this final flash but I don't remember which season it was from 

 

 

seriously guys. not even a single reference to the original Arhur?!?

[Carnivore Chris]

13 hours ago, Dalmore said:

 

 

seriously guys. not even a single reference to the original Arhur?!?

I did in another thread, where I posted a video mate.

Legendary cartoon .

 

On 10/07/2018 at 19:21, Cannabis said:

Fred, Luan, Brian. 

So fucking annoying.

When your name is something along the lines of "Arthur Henrique Ramos de Oliveira dos santos da silva Assis Moreira Melo" then it's probably for the best just to call him by his first name to be fair .

 

On a serious note, it's not really that long, but they do have long names compared to players from other nations so it's easier to shorten it down. Arthur Melo would even work for me.

[El Profesor]

16 hours ago, Dalmore said:

wrong video dude!

his best moment surely was this final flash but I don't remember which season it was from 

 

 

seriously guys. not even a single reference to the original Arhur?!?

haha I´m more into sports anime, to be honest. Haikyuu, Major, Touch!, Hajime no Ippo are my thing. 

[SirBalon]

It's taken Arthur just one week to leave both the Barcelona coaching staff, technical team and more importantly, his colleagues to be left astonished at his technique, skill level and reading of the game.

The comments from inside the dressing room and board members in the Camp Nou halls has been one of; "We knew he was good, but we didn't expect this!".  Infact there was talk of bringing back La Masia runaway to Bavaria Thiago Alcántara to pair both of them up and support each other on the pitch... But there's no more talk of this and Infact the talk now is one of where to search for depth options in the transfer market.

In a radio interview last night with one of the strategical technical coaches he said this;

"Here at Barça we sometimes have a joke and a laugh about the 'Barça DNA' catchphrase as we know it rubs some people up the wrong way or it turns some heads in an embarrassing manner.  We find it funny which is why we sometimes throw the term into the media ring... But we have found ourselves rather bemused at Arthur's level of understanding of our game.  Usually when we sign a midfielder even from La Liga, we set that player aside for a few weeks so we can adapt him to the very difficult comprehension of how our game is conjured in a vital area of the paying surface which is the centre of the pitch.  I remember when Deco first arrived to the club he said that even though he had grown up on Futsal and that this had helped him adapt quickly, it was a whole different ball game and that not every player no matter how technical could assimilate what was required.  We've seen this Infact with André (Gomes) who is extremely technically gifted but has found it extremely difficult to adapt."

"But this young man has left us with our mouths open.  He made his first training session on his own the following day after signing his Barcelona contract and later that afternoon we had no choice other than to insert him in with the full body of technical coaches.  Someone came to my office and said that they'd be sending Arthur to train with me later that day and I told the coach if he was sure he'd mentioned the correct name as this had never happened before with any player signed from a different club and that had not come from our academy... I was confused but they told me to trust their decision and even though I was sceptical, I accepted the decision.  It took me all of 5 minutes to see what my colleague was saying to me and the look on the rest of the players faces was one of amazement."

"We later joked with Arthur if where he was born there was a gene pool of 'Barça DNA' and he seemed to capture the joke straight away because he laughed and said... "Aaaah, that famous 'Barça DNA' thing"... He just said that growing up he was addicted to watching Barcelona on the tv with Xavi and Iniesta... He added that due to his unusual more diminutive size for a Brazilian midfielder, that he had developed that style of play which is very Un-Brazilian these days but that once a long time ago Brazil used to also produce this type of player.  He told us that for someone like him it was a lot more difficult to get a chance early on and that he had to show more to prove himself."

"Whatever it is, whatever will be we don't know, but what's for sure is that at this moment in time we are all astonished and extremely happy with Arthur.  Not only is he very gifted as a footballer, but he seems to be an amazing character and person.  We are so happy at the coaching staff department to have him with us."

@El Profesor

[Kowabunga]

I'm going to tell something that many of you won't like. I've got the impression that most of the doubts revolving around Arthur in Barcelona are because of him being Goiano. If he were European, Argentinian or Paulista he would be incontestable.

[El Profesor]

Thank you for sharing this, @SirBalon. That makes me really happy. I love how Arthur molded his game after Xavi and Iniesta and how he idolises and respect them. And it´s not just something he´s saying because he´s at Barça now. You can see clearly on the way he plays. He had other offers from european clubs but once Barça came for him, it was all Barça for him. He´s where he always dreamed to be and it´s nice to see. The director of Grêmio youth teams recently said Arthur changed the way the club develop midfielders, they focused on strenght and defensive abilities, but now they´re trying to develop more players in the Arthur style. 

 

8 hours ago, Kowabunga said:

I'm going to tell something that many of you won't like. I've got the impression that most of the doubts revolving around Arthur in Barcelona are because of him being Goiano. If he were European, Argentinian or Paulista he would be incontestable.

 The famous "goianos" are generally sertanejo singers, not footballers. haha

[SirBalon]

This guy is SPECIAL! There is no doubt that this is one of the biggest signings Barcelona have made in years. I know it’s only been one game but what I saw was enough because there are small details where someone that knows the mechanics of Barcelona’s midfield very well looks for. I saw those small details and those small details are actually big in terms of how important they are.

WHAT A PLAYER! Small but bloody brilliant!

@El Profesor, @The Rebel CRS, @Cannabis, @Stan

 

[El Profesor]

Thanks, @SirBalon. Great post!  I´m so happy for Arthur. I feel in love with his football last year, during Grêmio Libertadores run. I hope Barça fans appreciate his football as well.

You know what also I love? How quickly he and Rafinha got along and how he recognized what Rafinha did for him in their little together in the social medias. Arthur is a very special player and one tough guy, he left his family in Goiânia at 14 and went to Porto Alegre alone to chase the dream of becoming a football player. 

This kid, man. There are no midfielders like him in brazilian football, he made his way alone, despite being short, emulating his game after Xavi and Iniesta. He had other offers, but his dream was to play for Barcelona like his idols.

Grêmio´s director of youth teams said Arthur changed the way they saw football and now they´re trying to develop more midfielders like him, not only tall guys who defend well. I´m excited about the potential impact he can have in our football. 

[SirBalon]

[Carnivore Chris]

18 hours ago, SirBalon said:

This guy is SPECIAL! There is no doubt that this is one of the biggest signings Barcelona have made in years. I know it’s only been one game but what I saw was enough because there are small details where someone that knows the mechanics of Barcelona’s midfield very well looks for. I saw those small details and those small details are actually big in terms of how important they are.

WHAT A PLAYER! Small but bloody brilliant!

@El Profesor, @The Rebel CRS, @Cannabis, @Stan

 

 

I was thinking the same mate, he looks to have settled straight into the side, he doesn't give the ball away, makes all the correct passes, is quick to react and does all the simple things right. I genuinely thought I was watching a young Xavi at first, without trying to go overboard off one game. After a run of games I could see him already being one of the first names on the team sheet.