Arsenal’s 10 match unbeaten streak came to an end with a rude awakening at Anfield. A 4-0 loss to Liverpool highlighted several flaws in Mikel Arteta’s side. One problem that would definitely be on Arteta’s mind as they welcome Newcastle United on the 27th would be how easily Jurgen Klopp’s men bypassed Arsenal’s mid-field. Granit Xhaka’s injury and Mohamed Elneny’s future almost definitely lying out the London club, combined with Albert Sambi Lokonga’s poor showing has exposed just how limited Arteta’s options are in the middle of the park.The latest name to be linked with a move to the Gunners is Brazilian mid-fielder Arthur Melo.
Arthur Melo joined FC Barcelona from Brazilian side Greimo in 2018. After 2 whole seasons in Spain, he was traded to Italian Club Juventus, in exchange for Miralem Pjanic and €10 million in a highly controversial deal. Reports now suggest that the Brazilian, who was crucial in his Copa America winning run in 2019, could be on the move yet again, having spent just a little more than one year at Turin.
Arthur has struggled for minutes under manager Massimiliano Allegri. He has registered just 147 minutes across the League and Champions League in 6 appearances. Unhappy with his game time and involvement, the Brazilian is looking for a way out as early as the January transfer window. Italian source CalcioMercato reports that Arsenal have joined the race to seal the signature of 25-year-old Arthur Melo, mentioning Premier League sides Newcastle United and Leeds United as interested parties. The Mirror believes that Juventus value Arthur at £29.5m.
Spanish side Sevilla have identified the mid-fielder as their primary target, but his agency P&P Sport Management, run by Fede Pastorello are said to prefer that he moves to England instead. The same agency also facilitated Romelu Lukaku’s transfer to Chelsea from Inter Milan. On the surface level, the move seems like a win for all parties involved. Juventus have plenty of quality in the mid-field with names like Adrien Rabiot, Manuel Locatelli, Rodrigo Bentancur and Weston Mckennie. The Italian side are also constantly linked Denis Zakaria and Aurelien Tchouameni, and selling Arthur could free up some space.
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Arthur Melo, currently at 25, seems to have stagnated a bit in his career. After a bright start at FC Barcelona, Arthur was also named in the Team of the Tournament for the 2019 edition of the Copa America. After a slow start to the 2019-20 campaign, the mid-fielder consolidated his place in the starting XI for a short while before 2 injuries hindered his development. Injury issues, poor form and continuous links on a move away from the Catalan city meant Arthur found himself completely out of manager Quique Setien’s plans.
Arthur struggled to make an impact under manager Andrea Pirlo, and managed 32 games across all competitions, only 19 as a starter. Under Max Allegri, whose teams have always been centered around a well-oiled mid-field, the Brazilian would have hoped to turn his situation around. But after 17 games, Arthur has only 1 start to show for himself. Under Mikel Arteta, and given Arsenal’s fragile mid-field, the former Greimo mid-fielder could have a realistic opportunity to resurrect his career.
Since playing 14 games in the Copa America or friendlies for the National Team, the mid-fielder has found himself completely out of contention for a place in the squad for the 2022 World Cup, and has played only 1 game for the National Team in nearly 2 years. Regular minutes and competing at a higher level more often may put Arthur back in Tite’s plans for the Selecao.
Against Liverpool Thomas Partey and Albert Sambi Lokonga struggled to assert themselves against the quality of Fabinho and Thiago. They were consistently positioned deep in their own half and struggled to break Liverpool’s high press.
Partey recorded 2 progressive carries and 2 progressive passes while Lokonga had none.
Arthur is one of the most press resistant players in Europe. Over the last 365 days, he records 5.82 progressive passes and 6.34 progressive carries per 90 minutes, 87th and 89th percentile across the top 5 leagues. He is also in the 99th percentile for pass completion rate with a staggering 83.8% completion. Arthur will bring security in possession and help Arteta’s men progress the ball through the mid-field. 40.8% of all pressurizing actions against Arsenal occurs in the middle third of the field, and the ex-Barcelona medio would compliment Thomas Partey greatly in a double pivot.
Arthur worked in a similar role for Brazil in the 2019 Copa America, alongside Casemiro and behind Everton-Coutinho-Gabriel Jesus in 4-2-3-1 set up. Arthur averages an impressive 40.625 progressive carry distance percentage. However, since his move to Barcelona in 2018, Arthur has never played more than 50% of the available minutes in the league.
Arthur has battled injury issues consistently over the last 3 seasons. The player’s off-the-field behavior has also come into scanner several times. Barcelona in 2019 were unhappy that he attended Brazilian teammate Neymar’s birthday celebrations, and in December 2019, he missed over a month of football after allegedly contracting an STD.
On the field, Arthur’s stamina and fitness issues have consistently hampered his game time. The Brazilian often runs out of steam well before the final whistle. Arthur averages 73.5 minutes played per start over the last 4 seasons. He has completed 90 minutes in only 14 games for the same period.
The ex-Greimo player also lacks a solid game on either extreme end of the field. His defensive awareness is poor, and over the last one year, he has managed only 21.9% of all tackles he has attempted against an opposition dribble. Arthur is dribbled past almost 2 times every game, and averages just over 1 successful tackle and just under 1 interception every 90 minutes. He is also an average volume presser. This video from the 2019-20 El Clasico demonstrates how Arthur’s unwillingness to commit allowed Toni Kroos to pick out a pass that eventually led to a goal.
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