The Brazilian midfielder made his national team debut against USA and he certainly made an impression on his manager.
Arthur joined Barcelona from Brazilian side Gremio in the summer with much fanfare due to the belief among sections of the fanbase that he could be the natural successor to Xavi due to his passing ability and intelligence on the ball.
He showed signs of promise on the pre-season tour of the US as he scored on his debut against Tottenham and looked confident in his role in all those games as well as the Joan Gamper Trophy against Boca Juniors at Camp Nou; Riqui Puig did overshadow him as the star of pre-season, though, with part of that being down to his La Masia roots. Ernesto Valverde has only used him as a late substitute in the home league matches against Alaves and Huesca as he aims to slowly transition him into the team, but the 22-year-old already has one assist to his name.
His performances for Gremio in the Copa Libertadores and Campeonato Gaucho as well as his high-profile move to Barcelona earned him a call-up to the national team. Tite opted to give opportunities to some of the talented youngsters in Europe and South America such as Arthur, Richarlison and Lucas Paqueta due to the matches being friendlies.
The Brazil manager has the tough task of winning the Copa America on home turf in 2019 after a disappointing quarter-final exit to Belgium at the World Cup, so some fresh faces to rejuvenate the team are a good idea.
Arthur only came on in the 60th minute, but he did enough to impress his manager as Tite was full of compliments post-match with an accurate summary of what he brings to the team:
"“Arthur articulates the game and is positional, re-programming passes. He encourages the opponent to mark somebody, but then he tricks them by changing his side and redirecting the pass. He has the ability to make a pass for the passer.””He makes transition happen. He can collect the ball close to the defenders and give it to Philippe Coutinho or Neymar. He makes this transition happen, taking part in the first or second movement, and he does it with impressive ability. I spoke to Roger Machado and told him ‘this player finds ways out’.”Marca"
Tite utilised him in a similar position to his future role at Barcelona because he was the deep-lying playmaker, which worked well with Casemiro’s ball-winning ability and Philippe Coutinho’s creativity. Former Barcelona player Paulinho occupied that position during the World Cup, although he was used as a box-to-box midfielder with Renato Augusto occasionally used as well. Arthur should allow the Selecao to have greater control in matches if he becomes a permanent fixture with less of a reliance on quick transitions spearheaded by Neymar.
It’s likely to be a while before the youngster is a starter for Barcelona because Ivan Rakitic currently occupies his position and there is plenty of competition for places from players such as Denis Suarez, Carles Alena and Arturo Vidal. However, he seems to impress wherever he goes through his positional awareness and ability to retain possession while aiding ball progression, so he looks to have a bright future ahead of him.