Following Barcelona’s 4-2 dispatch of Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, Squawka wrote that Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo was fast becoming the heir to Xavi’s midfield throne.
While the limelight was understandably on the Argentinian wizardry of Lionel Messi, the 22-year-old Arthur put in a commanding performance in the Barcelona midfield, dictating play and shift the ball in tight spaces in a manner that bore a striking resemblance to the Blaugrana’s former pass master.
After the game, manager Ernesto Valverde was quick to pour praise on his new midfield lynchpin, telling beIN SPORTS (via Goal): “Man, that’s what it’s all about. Looking for a gap, he has some qualities that come in handy. He completes many passes, it’s hard to take the ball off him. He has been a starter in an important game.”
Following that impressive result at Wembley, the Spanish champions followed up with a handy 1-1 La Liga draw away to Valencia. Although that result extended their domestic winless run to four games, the Mestalla is a notoriously hard place to go and Barca deserve much more credit than they are getting for coming away with a point.
And one thing that has stood out from that game, more than anything else, is the continued rise of Arthur, with the former Gremio man seemingly taking another step in the ‘Xavi direction’.
Indeed, Arthur attempted 142 passes in the draw with Los Che, the most by a player in a La Liga away game since Xavi Hernandez himself against Levante in November 2012 (148). Of those 142 attempts, the twice-capped Brazil international completed 135 – even with Squawka excluding certain metrics from being considered a pass, Arthur was left with an equally impressive 132 completed passes, the most of any player from Europe’s top five leagues this weekend.
This was only Arthur’s second La Liga start but if he keeps racking up numbers like he did against Valencia, as well as putting in such commanding performances as he did on the huge stage that is Wembley, Barcelona’s midfield woes will finally be over and the Catalan side will well and truly have their heartbeat back.
The post Arthur ascends closer to Xavi’s throne after 135-pass record in Valencia draw appeared first on Squawka News.
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