Eye test makes it look different. Arthur can hold the ball, while Raki can't. Arthur can relieve pressure, while Rakitic can't. Those are two massive things for a Barca player. Keeping possession. That's Arthur's best quality..
You need everything.
2 Arthur's without 1-2 Rakitic to cover for his back, wouldn't win anything in a CL.
The same, 2 Rakitics alone without someone to hold the ball, wouldn't do too much.
Anyway, let's see how Pep's Barca's DNA tactics will again end this season in a CL, compared to EV's ugly Barca.
Anyway, it is interesting how people on our forum see matches quite different from neutrals.
For example, ratings from yesterday for our 3 midfielders:
Sport:
Rakitic (7) Solved problems in midfield. Worked hard to cover ground and didn't let Pogba get into any rhythm. His efforts in defence impeded his effectiveness in attack.
Arthur (6) More of a battling performance than a creative one due to United's pressing. Came off early in the second half.
Busquets (5) Gave away some dangerous free kicks and was deservedly booked. Could even have been sent off in the first half. His passing improved after the break.
The Guardian:
Rakitic 6: Had a quiet opening half though one smooth acceleration into United’s territory showed his class.
Arthur 6: Brazilian had McTominay for company as part of a midfield which Messi joined at times.
Busquets 4: Dropped McTominay for early free-kick, booked for pulling back Pogba. Niggling fouls continued.
Independent:
Rakitic 7
Arthur 6
Busquets 6
SkySports:
Rakitic 7: Classy. Kept things ticking over in midfield.
Arthur 6: Moved the ball stylishly down Barcelona's left with Philippe Coutinho and Alba without ever having a major influence on the game.
Busquets 6: Constantly fouling in the first half and was perhaps lucky not to pick up a second booking for three fouls that looked yellow card worthy.
Daily Mail:
Rakitic 6: Started well on his 100th appearance in Europe but faded a little after that.
Arthur 5,5: Industrious if unspectacular display form the Brazilian and he was replaced by Sergio Roberto.
Busquets 5,5: Floored McTominay early on and trod a fine line after being booked for another foul on Pogba.
Mirror:
Busquets 8 - MOTM. Booked. Unlocked United’s defence for the opener and was class.
Rakitic 6 - Pulled the strings in the midfield for Barca with his passing.
Arthur 6 - Was neat and tidy in possession before fading in the second half.
Express:
Rakitic – 6: An understated display, with Rakitic helping keep the Barca attacking probing away. Coped better than his midfield counterparts with the press and kept Paul Pogba quiet for much of the night.
Busquets - 5: An inconsistent performance from the Spaniard, who looked out-of-sorts as he was caught dithering time and again. Went in the book early for a foul on Scott McTominay and was lucky not to receive his marching orders after a handball.
Arthur - 5: Showed glimpses of his quality but was exposed at times after the break as the game broke up.
INews:
Rakitic 6,5: Carried the ball quite well at times, but struggled along with the rest of Barcelona’s midfield to deal with some periods of incessant pressure from Man United. Asked to dig in and do more work off the ball in a tough second half.
Arthur 6: Always an option in midfield as Barcelona looked to dominate proceedings early on, but wasn’t able to play many scything balls forward. Began to struggle as the game progressed, as the home side gradually found their feet and began to ask bigger questions. Didn’t like close attention from McTominay and let the referee know about it.
Busquets 4: Lucky to escape a booking after a very poor tackle after five minutes – but received a yellow for hauling down Pogba cynically just after the 15-minute mark. Found life at Old Trafford tough, as he was often exposed as the deepest midfielder and pressured heavily by Man United’s midfield. An evening to forget for the talented Spain international.
Sport 360:
Rakitic 7: Measured presence in midfield, doing nothing flashy but everything proficiently.
Arthur 6: Not at his brilliant best, yet still exuded class and provided shield in front of defence.
Busquets 5: Could have received two bookings in first 20 minutes. Recovered from suspect start.
90min:
Arthur 7
Rakitic 6
Busquets 6
Standard:
Rakitic 6
Arthur 6
Busquets 6
Sports Joe:
Busquets - 7.5 Busquets' ball over the top of United's defence started the move that led to his team's goal and he barely hit a stray pass all night.
Rakitic - 7 Full of energy and he hardly ever lost the ball, the Croatian midfielder also coped well with United's physical approach.
Arthur - 6.5 Neat in possession but faded from the game in the second half before being substituted.
Squawka:
Rakitic 6: Didn’t find the room to join attacks often enough. His crucial contribution came in the final 10 minutes when his coolness on the ball calmed things down for the visitors.
Arthur 6: The calmest central player in a sometimes frantic midfield battle in the first half but Valverde noticed he was being slightly overrun after the break and took him off with 25 minutes to go.
Busquets 5: Caught out defensively three times in the first half and was arguably lucky to avoid two yellow cards. Not his usual cool self in possession but it was his clever pass that initially led to the opener.
TOTAL:
Rakitic 83,5/13=6,4 rating
Arthur 78/13=6,0 rating
Busquets 73/13=5,6 rating
Anyway, I am seeing this pattern lately.
I came to a forum or on chat and majority will say: Arthur was the only good midfielder, others were shit.
Or Rakitic is a waste of space, what is he even doing on a field?
While, when you go outside of Barca's forum, opinions are quite different.
Out of these 13 papers, only 1 rated Arthur higher than Rakitic yesterday.
There are few possibilities why our forum's opinion is different than neutral opinions:
1. neutrals don't understand football as good as posters on Barca forum. I doubt it.
2. or neutrals are weighing skills and flaws differently than our forum. And here, a huge bias is on technique and keeping a ball and other things are often overlooked. (I mean, the winning midfield trio for the next season on a recent poll was: Busi-Arthur-Frenkie, with a lot of people suggesting: sell both Rakitic and Vidal and make more room for Alena and Puig, lol).
Also, another interesting thing.
Neutral reports after Barca:Atletico confirmed that a lot of neutrals think that Arthur plays too safe and without risks.
Now, after a match against Man Utd, a lot of these papers from above are mentioning how Arthur was overrun in midfield in the 2nd half and was rightfully replaced with players with fresher legs.
So, neutral watchers think that Arthur plays too safe and that he was tired after 45 minutes.
Barca forum watchers will say: Arthur is always the best midfielder in our team and a stupid EV is always subbing him off instead of Rakitic or Busquets.
I will personally check from time to time neutral views because Barca forum is often not a too objective place with classical and predictable skills/players who will get the most love no matter what.
