Arthur himself would admit his loan spell at Liverpool was a failure, but the Brazilian midfielder is surprisingly now rebuilding his career in Serie A.
“When he injured his quadriceps at Liverpool, fear took over, something unusual for him,” Arthur’s personal physio told Corriere dello Sport this month.
“That stop affected him because he feared, once he recovered, that he might hurt himself again.
“Water under the bridge, though. Now there is only Fiorentina.”
Arthur had been a shock signing for Liverpool at the end of the summer transfer window, joining on loan from Juventus, and due partly to injury and partly his emergency status, he barely featured.
But after 13 minutes on the pitch for the Reds, he is reshaping his fortunes with a new loan spell at Fiorentina.
So far this season, he has featured in every game for the club in Serie A, starting 16 of those 19 fixtures, with 27 appearances from a possible 29 in all competitions.
Largely operating alongside either Rolando Mandragora or Alfred Duncan at the base of midfield in Vincenzo Italiano’s 4-2-3-1, or both in a 4-3-3, Arthur has impressed with his performances.
In October, Corriere dello Sport ran a front-page headline hailing the 27-year-old as ‘King Arthur’ – a stark contrast to his reputation at Anfield.
No player has created more chances for Fiorentina in this season’s Italian top flight, per FotMob, with Arthur tied with attacking midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura on 25.
Only centre-back Lucas Martinez Quarta (two) wins more tackles per 90 on average than Arthur (1.5), while no Fiorentina player with 400 or more minutes in Serie A is completing more passes per 90 than his 60.4.
Arthur is now playing with the bite and precision that made him such an attractive prospect when Barcelona signed him from Gremio back in 2018.
“Better than ever,” was his assessment to AS in September, when asked how he sees himself now.
“I feel more mature. Physically better. I started working on the mental part, which I didn’t work on before, and I’ve gotten better.”
From 13 minutes at Liverpool to 1,723 minutes and counting at Fiorentina, it is nice to see Arthur back fit and thriving again.
