Arsenal Renew Negotiations With Juventus to Sign Midfielder Arthur Melo

Arsenal have renewed negotiations with Juventus over a potential deal for midfielder Arthur Melo this summer, according to reports in Italy. The North London outfit tried to sign the Brazilian midfielder in January. However, the deal fell through as the clubs failed to reach an agreement.

The Gunners have made substantial progress in their negotiations to sign Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans, who is manager Mikel Arteta’s first choice. They have ramped up the negotiations to secure the services of the Belgium international. Nevertheless, the English side will definitely keep a backup option in case the Tielemans deal doesn’t go through.

Arthur Melo, Juventus, Arsenal — Image Obtained Via The Sports Lite

As per reports from TuttoMercatoWeb (via Football London), Arsenal have revived talks with Juventus to sign Arthur Melo in the summer transfer window. Although the club have already signed Oleksandr Zinchenko, signing another midfielder could be on the cards as Arteta wants to have enough squad to compete in the Europa League.

Now, according to Italian journalist Rudy Galleti (via The Sun), the North London side are looking to submit an official bid for the Brazilian midfielder. With Paul Pogba re-joining Juventus this month, Arthur Melo is no longer part of Massimiliano Allegri’s plans and thus, an offer from Arsenal is imminent.

🚨🔥 #Arsenal are set to make an official bid to #Juventus for #Arthur. 💰

📌 Despite the interest for #Tielemans, #AFC could try to sign the 🇧🇷 midfielder, who is out of the ⚪⚫ plans. 🐓⚽#Transfers #Calciomercato pic.twitter.com/NYoECLXGcZ

— Rudy Galetti (@RudyGaletti) July 20, 2022

How Does He Fit Into Arsenal?

Juventus signed Arthur for €72 million plus €10 million in variables from FC Barcelona. He was hugely reputed at Barca but many were left wondering about the Catalan club’s decision to sell the player on a swap deal. Barcelona signed Miralem Pjanic in exchange for the Brazilian but neither of the players delivered as per the expectations after the swap move.

The 25-year-old has excellent passing range as well as the ability to shake off defenders. He is a natural keeper of the ball and had a high pass completion rate at Barcelona. People compared him to Xavi and Iniesta, which is a massive compliment for any player. However, he likes to keep the ball and barely takes risks to create chances, for which he has been criticised repeatedly.

Defensively, he helps his team to win possession high up the pitch by staying close to the area where the ball is. After winning the ball, he likes to play in chipped through-balls behind the opposition’s defensive line.

The Brazilian is also very good when he finds himself in a 1v1 situation. His great balance allows him to get away from defenders. His attributes help him to keep the ball almost effortlessly, while allowing him more touches on the ball. This could all be very useful for Arsenal, especially when added to the experience Arthur Melo already has of playing for top clubs like Juventus and Barcelona.

Arthur Melo is a very good player to count on when building from the back. Since he has very good technical ability, he is comfortable in receiving the ball under pressure. Moreover, his vision allows him to scan the pitch well for receivers while he withstands the pressure when he is near his own goal.

The midfielder usually plays in the left half-space of the pitch and can move the ball towards the flank as well. He is very agile and very quick in turning away from the defenders. This gives him enough time and space to play a perfectly-weighted pass or he can even burst with pace to carry to ball forward himself. However, he has one drawback – he doesn’t take enough risks and rarely plays vertical forward passes.

Can A Move to Arsenal Help Arthur’s Career?

The 2019 Copa America winner had 20 appearances in Serie A in the 2021/22 campaign, with only 11 coming as a starter (stats via whoscored). He has been able to accumulate just 958 minutes under his belt in the league (stats via transfermarkt). Playing with Arsenal may urge him to take those risks that he does not usually take.

He might take some time to settle down in a new environment in England. However, once he gets comfortable and works on his weaknesses, he could become the perfect midfielder that the North London side need right now. The Gunners need to have more control of the ball and the game when facing tough opponents and he can help the club in achieving just that.

Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey have similar characteristics and creating chances is not amongst their best attributes. Signing Arthur will help Arteta to set up his team in a 4-3-3 formation. The 25-year-old Brazilian is very comfortable playing at the left-side of a midfield three.

With the FIFA World Cup approaching at the end of the year, Arthur will be looking to reclaim his spot in the national team. Arsenal’s current predicament all but guarantees regular minutes for the former Gremio youth product.

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