Xavi Hernandez: "arthur melo looks a lot like me"

Xavi is the record appearance holder for the Catalan giants and won a multitude of trophies in his time at the club. Barcelona legend  has discussed the comparisons being made between him and Arthur as the latter continues to make a positive .

Arthur melo The 22-year-old arrived at the Nou Camp from Gremio this past summer, and has gone on to make 11 appearances so far this season. And in the absence of Arthur melo Blaugrana failed to win in three La Liga games before the Brazilian midfielder was brought into the team for the Champions League game away at Tottenham.

A central midfielder who has a unique talent to protect the ball, always make the best passing choice because of his GPS-like qualities inside the pitch, and with an insane last pass that will bring him a high number of assists playing for a club like Barcelona.

One match is all that Arthur needed to earn the trust of the manager and the respect of all his teammates, who are really enjoying the club’s offensive game which left the club when Xavi retired.

There hadn’t been a public opinion from Hernandez where he spoke freely about the Brazilian until now, Xavi is very happy with Arthur’s appearance in Barcelona and he did confess that there are many similarities between the two of them that will help the Catalan club a great deal during crucial matches.

He has gradually become a more prominent figure in coach Ernesto Valverde’s plans in his starting line-up, and as seen in the videos below, there is no doubt that there is an uncanny resemblance to Xavi in his playing style at times. (A 4-2 win over Sevilla, a 2-0 victory over Inter Milan and a 5-1 demolition of Real Madrid have all followed in recent weeks ).

 The Catalan giants will certainly hope to see that development continue sothat he does indeed become increasingly like Xavi and has the same influence as the Spaniard did, and it would seem as though Arthur has now got the seal of approval from the man himself.

To say Arthur looks the real deal would be an understatement, with the former Gremio man yet to have a passing accuracy lower than 90% in any game he's featured in. From his composure and technical quality in possession in tight situations to get out of trouble to his vision and passing range, the Brazilian starlet is showcasing that he could very well fill the void left behind by the club icon.

Barcelona legend Xavi says midfield ace Arthur reminds him of himself :

He looks like me, I see myself in Arthur,” Xavi told Mundo Deportivo. “He thinks very fast and he still has to work, because I improved while I was at Barça and I would not have improved so much when I was at another club.

“Arthur looks mature. The priority in the middle of the field is not to lose the ball and he sees everything easy, plays well and little by little, I see a lot of potential. That’s how it happened to me. Little by little he will be gaining confidence and after 20 or 30 matches we will see an Arthur with confidence. I see a very very important player for the future of Barça.”

A criticism of the Brazilian thus far is that perhaps he needs to be a little more ambitious and creative with his passing to open up chances for his teammates and so to make a more decisive impact in an attacking sense.

Xavi clearly believes that will come with time and confidence, and so it remains to be seen how Arthur improves over the course of the campaign and continues to potentially live up to the billing of being Xavi’s heir.

Given his trophy haul and years of consistency at the highest level at the Nou Camp though, the Brazilian starlet still has a long way to go to match what he achieved.

And Al Sadd midfielder Xavi was effusive in his praise of the Brazilian, who he believes has the potential to bring a great deal to his old side.

However, the decorated midfielder urged patience with the club's new signing, explaining that it would take time for him to display his full range of qualities due to the demands of playing for Barcelona.

“He needs at least 20 more matches in order to show all his resources," added Xavi. "He has impressive shooting skills and he will do a lot more for the team once he gets more confidence.

 “Take Abidal for example, when he arrived in Barcelona he only did a couple things right. But through hard work and dedication during practice, he became the best defender in the world.

“Nothing comes easy at a club like FC Barcelona because playing at that club means that you are going through the [biggest test] of your career.

"In a club like this, you have to do at least two hundred things that you wouldn’t normally do at other clubs.”