Liverpool fans haven’t seen much of Arthur Melo since his transfer deadline day loan move from Juventus. Limited to just 13 minutes of action so far, making his debut as a late substitute away at Napoli last month, the Brazil international has ultimately been playing catch up since first walking through the door.
With his last senior start at the start of May for Juventus in a Serie A defeat away at Genoa, the midfielder ultimately wasn’t afforded a proper-pre-season in Turin. As a result, he worked hard throughout the international period, playing twice for the Reds Under-21s, in a bid to gain some much-needed match fitness.
An unused substitute against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, it remains to be seen how close Arthur is to making a more meaningful impact at Anfield, with the 26-year-old no doubt hoping Klopp turns to him against Rangers on Tuesday night. After all, he is looking to make up for lost time.
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On paper, signing the midfielder on to bolster Liverpool ’s midfield options, and then having the option to sign him permanently for €37.5m next year, could prove to be rather shrewd. After all, he is a full Brazil international and was highly-rated when coming through the youth ranks in his homelands, boasts two footballing heavyweights on his C.V. in Barcelona and Juventus and could have cost the pair up to a combined £110.6m
However, his two moves since leaving Gremio back in 2018 have ultimately not gone to plan, and not just because the midfielder has suffered with recurring injury problems throughout his career so far.
Signed by Barcelona for an initial £27.5m, with £8m in potential add-ons, on the eve of their recent decline as financial issues came to the forefront, he'd make 72 appearances in two years with the Catalans, starting 49 times and winning a solitary La Liga title in his first season at the club.
Yet appearances and starts both dried up his second year at Camp Nou as he continued to sporadically be troubled by injury. Starting 32 of his 44 appearances in 2018/19, including 19 of his 27 La Liga appearances and seven of his nine Champions League outings, such totals dropped to 17 starts from 28 appearances in 2019/20, as he featured only 21 times in La Liga, 14 times from the start, and started just three times in the Champions League group-stages, with one further substitute appearance coming in the knock-out stages on their way to a quarter-final exit.
With Barcelona's financial problems increasing, Arthur would see out just two seasons of his six-year contract before being sold to Juventus in the summer of 2020. The Brazilian joined the Old Lady in a questionable deal worth an initial £66m, and £9.1m in potential add-ons, with Miralem Pjanic moving the other way for an initial £54.9m and £4.6m in potential add-ons.
Regardless of the scrutiny such an inflated swap-deal faced, it hardly worked out for either clubs or players. Focussing just on Arthur, his fortunes did not improve at the Allianz Stadium.
Juventus were reigning Serie A champions when signing the midfielder in 2020, having won the title for nine consecutive seasons. Yet, like Barcelona, it coincided with the Old Lady’s own decline as they stumbled to successive fourth-place finishes and risked missing out on the Champions League.
As a result a Coppa Italia win in his first season at Juve would be Arthur's only major honour with the club.
Still troubled by injury he at least found some form when available under Andrea Pirlo in his first season, starting 19 of his 32 appearances including 13 from 21 in Serie A and four from seven in the Champions League. Yet under Massimiliano Allegri, he struggled even further with the Italian unable or unwilling to use him efficiently.
He made 31 appearances last season with 16 coming from the start. From those outings, he'd start 11 of his 20 Serie A appearances and just twice from his six Champions League showings.
Given his slow start to life at Anfield, Arthur will be desperate to ensure history does not repeat itself once again. After all, while a World Cup place with Brazil this winter might be beyond him, he is still playing for a permanent transfer.
And in truth his temporary switch to Liverpool is something of a last-chance saloon. If he fails at yet another elite European club, he’ll struggle to find another willing to sign him come the end of the season.
He’s not the first player to join the Reds when on their last top-level life under FSG’s watch, with two strikers from yesteryear also joining in similar circumstances after flattering to deceive more than once elsewhere. Enjoying mixed fortunes, one rose to the occasion after heeding his last chance warning, while the other disappeared into obscurity.
Given Daniel Sturridge ’s overall record at Liverpool’s it’s easy to forget he was seen as something of a gamble when signed by Brendan Rodgers in January 2013. Joining in a £12m deal from Chelsea, he’d been unable to nail down a regular starting role and deliver consistent goalscoring displays at both Man City and at Stamford Bridge when the Reds came calling.
His displays during a half-season spell on loan at Bolton Wanderers and during Andre Villas-Boas’ brief tenure at Chelsea had showcased his talents, however. As a result, Rodgers had seen enough to move for the striker to partner Luis Suarez.
But that didn’t stop him from warning the England international it was now or never for him at a giant of the game.
"He is a player that I've know since he was about 12 years of age," Rodgers said at the time. "He made his name as a youngster at Manchester City when he was one of the top young strikers in European football.
"You make a move as a young player and it is always going to be difficult because what he is is a goalscorer and the only spell he's had that was at Bolton. When he has played games he has scored goals. He gives us that power, presence and mobility at the top end of the field and the biggest thing is hunger.
"We are bringing in a player who knows he has to perform if he wants to be at one of the biggest clubs in the world and this is probably his last chance. I have every faith that over his time here he will prove a real hit and it gives us another attacking threat at the top end of the field. Daniel will learn off the top players who are here."
Rodgers’ faith would ultimately be justified despite injuries ensuring his ‘last chance’ warning would also coming true, as the striker scored 67 goals in 160 appearances and left Anfield as a European champion in 2019, before enjoying underwhelming stints at Trabzonspor and Perth Glory.
Yet it was a very different story for Mario Balotelli at Liverpool as FSG and Rodgers took another attacking gamble only to see this one backfire. While the Italian had scored goals for Inter Milan, Man City and AC Milan prior to his move to Anfield, the disruptive forward was ultimately unmanageable.
"At the top level, yes (this is his last chance). Either it works here or it's a bust,” his agent Mino Raiola warned back in 2014 ahead of his transfer being completed. “If it goes wrong? Mario is 24 years old. He no longer has the alibi of his age.
"I sought out for him a team where he can be an important element without being asked to be a leader. Liverpool have Steven Gerrard. There Mario will be protected and can give his best.
“Now it's up to him. Another flop is inadvisable. Not everyone is born to be a leader and a good striker is not always a leader either. Mario needs to get this pressure off his shoulders. He must feel free to score goals and that's it."
Balotelli would last just a season as a permanent Liverpool player, scoring just once from 16 Premier League appearances and four times from 28 outings overall, making just 14 starts in all competitions as Rodgers quickly ran out patience with the £16m signing.
While Raiola would get him a loan return to AC Milan, Balotelli would score just once in Serie A during his second stint with Il Rossoneri as his time at the top level of European football came to an end.
The Reds granted him a free transfer exit to get him off the books in August 2016 as he signed for Nice, and he initially enjoyed two prolific campaigns with the Ligue 1 club. Then the goals dried up and he joined Marseille on a short-term contract in January 2019.
While he would return to scoring form at the Stade Velodrome, OM opted against extending as his journey to footballing journeyman became complete. He returned to Italy and to Serie A with newly-promoted Brescia on a multi-year contract, but scored five goals from 19 appearances as they suffered relegation, and his contract was terminated after he repeatedly missed training that summer.
Then a free agent until dropping into Serie B with Monza in December 2020, he scored six times from 14 appearances yet he was unable to help them win promotion and again left on a free transfer at the end of his contract. But while he'd enjoy an impressive season with Turkish side Adana Demirspor last season after joining them in July 2021, scoring 19 goals from 33 appearances, an on-pitch falling out with manager Vincenzo Montella back in August saw the now 32-year-old join Swiss side FC Sion days later. His time when his talent alone, if not his mentality, attracted the attention of the continent’s elite clubs is now a distant memory.
Of course, there is nothing to suggest Arthur’s own career will now take such a drastic downturn as he looks to make his mark at Liverpool. But having flopped at both Barcelona and Juventus, it really needs to be a case of third-time lucky for the Brazilian as he looks to make his own positive mark on the European game.
With the Reds a decisive switch for him as a result as he enters his own last chance saloon, it’s now or never for the 26-year-old if he is to avoid his own decline into the footballing doldrums or a return to Brazil with his tail between his legs.
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