A few cons again:
I haven't watched Arthur before Barca, except on youtube highlights, but when you watch highlights, the "feeling" is different than when you watch a full match like at Barca.
For example, if someone will take a look ONLY at his highlights against Roma, it will look: like a very good match.
But a few guys who watched the match live, already mentioned in match thread's that he looked more cautious than the rest of the team. So, majority of other players were "flying", looking forward in every pass, while 19 out of 20 of his passes are: calm down, slow down, pass the ball back to a Cb or a Gk.
I have now watched some of his clips on youtube from Brasil to see whether he is scared at Barca, but to me it seems that he played the same, so it is his "thing" for now.
He is a: keep the ball, slow down, keep the possession, play it safe type of a player, it seems.
Who has those little runs when he dribble past a player.
So, for now, to me, it seems that he is good:
1. at taking the ball from around his box into an opponent's half. He is good in that.
But once when a ball gets close to an opponent's third, he turns on: safe mode.
2. further, you know when Busi has the ball: he will have Rakitic on the right, Iniesta on the left, RB Roberto on the far right, LB Alba on the far left, Messi and Suarez FAR in attack. Plus CBs behind him.
So, if Busi plays to: Pique, Umtiti, Rakitic or Iniesta=he is passing the ball to a CLOSEST player, let's call it "a +1 distance pass".
But, if Busi passes to RB Roberto and NOT to Rakitic who is closer, that is a +2 pass, to a 2nd closest player.
Messi is +2 far away from him (Busquets-Rakitic-then Messi).
Suarez is +3 far away from his: Busquets, then Rakitic, then Messi, then Suarez the further away from him.
Now, the thing is with Arthur, it seems that 19 out of 20 of his passes are: +1 distance passes.
He is almost always passing to A CLOSEST PLAYER (the safest and the slowest option), and extremely rarely to a player who is not closest to him (+2 pass or a +3 pass).
3. further, I understand now his graphs from a few weeks ago when someone asked: has he ever played a longball in his life?
Probably once in 100 passes, since all his passes are +1 distance passes to the closest guy.
People were whining for years about Rakitic's safepasses, while Arthur seems even worse in that "risk" part. (I know, he is young and new etc. But remember that Rakitic was a risky playmaker guy BEFORE Barca at Schalke, Basel and Sevilla, and Barca turned him into a safepass guy. While Arthur seems to be a safe guy even before Barca).
Now, watch some of his videos (random highlights videos from certain matches) from Brasil.
Please, take a look at 3 things:
1. no long balls
2. not too many forward passes, majority are short backpasses and sidepasses to the closest fullback. Here and there he plays a shortpass through the middle to the closest guy (+1 pass).
3. also, try to look at that part with +1 and +2 distance passes, he passes to a +1 (closest guy near him) in probably 9 out of 10 or 19 out of 20 actions.
It is early to say, but he looks to me like a guy born for playing in a team with 80% possession and against a team who WANTS to force an opponent into: parking a bus.
He would fit well into a football from 2010' when we played that extreme possession style.
If we'll want to play a more modern, faster, more direct football, Arthur will need to speed it up and take way more risks in his play.
About a remark how Real should have bought him, he seems like the total opposite of their faster, direct football.
Also, that thing when he said something to Denis in the first match. It was probably: calm down, slow down, pass it back, don't rush.
For now: he looks like a Xavi, but older, slower Xavi who wasn't taking risks.
Now look at the video from Brasil:
He is young, he can change, but he will have to work on that part of his game.
