Arthur Melo to Liverpool: Remembering his outrageous assist for Barcelona

In the wake of a midfield injury crisis, Liverpool have turned to Arthur Melo on transfer deadline day.

Going into the 2-1 victory over Newcastle United, Jurgen Klopp was already without both Thiago Alcantara and Naby Keita.

Club captain Jordan Henderson then picked up a hamstring injury at Anfield, leaving Liverpool rather bare in the midfield department.

So to soften the latest significant blow, the Merseyside outfit have opted to sign Arthur on loan from Juventus, the deal receiving the ‘here we go’ treatment from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

It’s a signing that the majority of Liverpool fans aren’t overly thrilled about, mainly due to the fact Arthur himself is very injury-prone and could clog up the Melwood treatment table even more.

However, if the Brazilian midfielder can stay fit, he could prove to be an astute piece of business.

At Barcelona, Arthur was tipped by many to be the heir to Xavi Hernandez’s throne and for a short amount of time, it looked as if he would go on to fulfil that prophecy.

One moment in particular from his time in Catalonia highlights what a seriously talented footballer he is.

In a Copa del Rey quarter-final second leg against Sevilla at Camp Nou in 2018/19, Arthur produced an assist worthy of the great Xavi.

His pass from near the centre circle eliminated eight players from the game and presented Ivan Rakitic with the easiest of goalscoring chances – which he took.

With his pass to Rakitic, Arthur Melo eliminated 8 players. Genius. pic.twitter.com/TF4UIOxyHS

That right there is a work of art. Lionel Messi‘s shrewd movement freed up space for Rakitic to run into and Arthur was then able to play an inch-perfect ball through a crowd of bodies.

Imagine a defence-splitting pass like that