Arthur Melo has likely kicked his last ball as a Barcelona player

Arthur left out of  squad list for Barcelona’s last game of the season.

The last image we may see of Arthur Melo as a Barcelona player may be of him yawning on the bench during the club’s only home defeat of the season against Osasuna.

A curious absence considering a handful of Barcelona players are set to miss the match due to suspension and Quique Setien needed every player available to fill out the side. It’s why he didn’t allow the Riqui Puig, Ronald Araujo and Ansu Fati to join the Barça B team.

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During his press conference, Setien was asked about the omission of the Brazilian midfielder.

"“The only thing I can say is that he turned up this morning saying he had a pain in his ankle.”Source: Sport"

Based on his answer, the decision was all but made for Setien when the player informed him that he had an injury.

Whether or not you believe Arthur is actually suffering from an injury is left to the individual. The club themselves have yet to release a statement confirming the injury.

The transfer to Juventus seems to have been a turning point.

Arthur has played very few minutes since the restart and no minutes at all since his move to Juventus became official. Which is contrast to Miralem Pjanic who is still taken into consideration by Maurizio Sarri.

It also started with Setien’s words when the move seemed a certainty. He basically said that he wouldn’t be the first player to leave because he did not meet expectations. Those words caused more controversy when his mother took to social media to defend his son.

Since the transfer and that press conference, he’s been relegated to the bench and was to be used only if deemed necessary. It is a poor way to treat a player who came in with so much promise and at a position that has become the Catalans’ weak point.

Injuries played a role in the downfall of his Barça career but he was never given a consistent run of play to showcase his talents under Ernesto Valverde or Quique Setien.

His last opportunity to feature for the club this season will be in their Champions League match against Napoli. They will be without Arturo Vidal and Sergio Busquets for that match so he may be deemed necessary for that game.

But unless something changes, Arthur has kicked his last ball for the Blaugrana. He will be a Juventus player next season where, at only 23-years-old, he’ll look to get his European career back on track.