This tactical analysis of Arthur first featured on an analysis site in our network, barcelonaanalysis.com
Barcelona have finally done it – after three successive games without a win for a much flawed Catalan side, the Blaugrana has once again reigned over the mythological Wembley. In the heart of it all was, of course, Lionel Messi, but apart from the greatest of all time schooling yet another opponent, there was someone else orchestrating in the shadows and marking his first true Champions League debut with a masterclass performance. His name is Arthur Melo and here is the full tactical analysis of his best game for the Barcelona shirt so far with the provided statistics.
Xavi reincarnated
When word first spread of Barcelona eyeing an exceptional Brazilian talent Arthur Melo, the analyses started flowing in on a daily basis. His idol is Andres Iniesta and he moves and plays like Xavi Hernandez – young, talented, good on the ball, impeccable in his passing of the ball and movement off it with a huge football IQ to partner them with. His 40 million price tag that was paid to Gremio seemed like a bargain, and yesterday we saw glimpses of that brilliance.
Arthur assumed a position of a left-sided central midfielder alongside Ivan Rakitić on the right and Sergio Busquets on his traditional CDM position. Still, that was Arthur’s position on paper but during the game, he would transition into higher or lower positions in relation to Tottenham’s focus of attack – dropping deeper when pressed and moving high up the pitch himself when applying the gegenpress . This was especially visible in the first half of the game where Arthur was utterly dominating play.
The Xavi comparisons might be premature considering Arthur is only 22 but his ceiling is frighteningly high. His abilities to pass the ball under pressure, twist and turn while keeping his head up all the time and retain possession do, however, make it rather difficult to stay away from them altogether. Arthur managed a total of 64 successful passes out of 75 that were attempted, noting a true Blaugrana style 91.4 % accuracy. This is even more impressive when considering that he only lost two balls when recycling possession or moving the attack. While most of his passes were directed sideways or backwards, it was almost always meaningful and with intent rather than simply finding the easiest way out.
