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Xavi said in an interview that he sees himself in Arthur Melo. Arthur thinks otherwise: 'I am neither Xavi nor Iniesta, I am Arthur' , he told the reporters during his presentation as a Barcelona player earlier in July. Whatever the case is, the Brazilian seems so far to be the missing piece in Barcelona's jigsaw puzzle after the two legends left the club. Iniesta or Xavi? Well, Arthur is a bit of both.
*All stats are prior to Barcelona's game against Rayo Vallecano last Saturday
Barcelona paid Gremio €40 million to secure the services of Arthur. He probably was almost unknown to the common football fan but Arthur had already managed to make a name of his own prior to his arrival at Catalonia. In fact, the Brazilian was a key part of Gremio winning the Copa Libertadores and the Campeonato Gaucho.
His best quality? Passing accuracy. According to WhoScored statistics, Arthur maintained a 94.8% pass accuracy during his last year at the Brasileiro while averaging 1.4 key passes and 4.4 long balls per 90 minutes played. No man in the Brazilian league had greater stats.
It was exactly what Barcelona needed. After the great Xavi left the club, Ivan Rakitic took his place in the starting line-up. Yes, the Croatian is marvellous, and his performances are consistent, but he falls short in terms of controlling the flow of the game and delivering accurate passes while resisting the press.
In addition, Sergio Busquets, (even though the older he gets, the greater he becomes) could not simultaneously monitor Barca's defense, control the rhythm of the game and retain ball possession. As a result, the offensive trio seemed disconnected from the rest of the team and Lionel Messi was once again enlisted to get the ball forward from the midfield as none other could.
Something was missing. Someone was missing.
Upon his arrival at Barcelona, Arthur chose quite a number for his shirt. The '8', worn by some of the greatest players of the game: Andres Iniesta, Hristo Stoichkov, Bernd Schuster. Not a lightweight burden for a 22-year old to carry. Nevertheless, Arthur managed not only to meet the expectations, but to raise them as well.
The Brazilian has made 12 appearances so far for the Blaugrana and has never failed to shine even once. In his first LaLiga start against Valencia, Arthur attempted 142 passes (135 successfully) the most so far in the season and the second best in the league history for an away match, only behind Xavi.
His impact on Barcelona's game has been tremendous so far. According to the WhoScored stats, Arthur currently has the second-best pass success rate (95.1) in Europe's top-5 Leagues among players with at least 5 appearances. He is second only to his teammate, Samuel Umtiti.
Indeed, Barca found themselves the missing link between defense and offense, the one that they long craved. Armed with extreme pass precision and a ferocious, ball-winning attitude, Arthur makes the life of his teammates, especially Busquets, much easier.
It must be noted here that Arthur's brilliance lies in the efficiency of his passes. In fact, the Brazilian holds the throne with regards to the most build-up plays in the LaLiga so far. This indicates that his handovers are rarely purposeless. They are used to break down even the most well-armored defenses.
In his last 6 appearances for Barcelona (prior to Saturday's game versus Rayo Vallecano), Arthur maintained over a 91% pass accuracy. Against Sevilla, he hit an astonishing 97.3%. In the Clasico, his pass precision reached 94%.
The young Brazilian has produced similar extraordinary performances in the Champions League. Barca has 3 wins out of 3 games so far, scoring 10 goals and conceding only 2. Arthur has been critical. He has maintained a 92% pass accuracy in the Group Stage, having completed 163 out of 177 passes.
Of course, it is still quite early in the season and every assumption can be seen as premature. Yet, no one can deny that Arthur has already laid firm foundations to be considered as a key player in Valverde's Barcelona.
His outstanding, Xavi-esque passing abilities have enabled Barca to produce, or rather reproduce, some of the famous tiki-taka, dominating appearances of the past with Busquets, Iniesta and Xavi in the formation, and he is only 22 years old.
