?Barcelona legend Xavi has been gone from the Nou Camp for three years now, while the departure of his long-term midfield partner Andres Iniesta spells ?the end of an era for the Blaugrana.
?Barcelona have been eyeing Paris Saint-Germain’s Adrien Rabiot as their new midfield lynchpin, but Xavi believes that his old club have already signed a ready-made replacement in 21-year-old Brazilian Arthur.
“I’ve seen a few videos of him, and although I have not been able to see a full game, there are many Brazilians here at the Aspire academy who have spoken about him very well,” said Xavi, as quoted by ?Mundo Deportivo.
Xavi: “Arthur is a quality player, he has the FC Barcelona DNA. Many Brazilian players have spoken well about him. In the end it will come down to his mentality, but I have no doubts he’ll succeed.” pic.twitter.com/iMnfPA4u5G
— Barca Universal (@BarcaUniversal) July 21, 2018
“I think he is a player who is perfectly adaptable to Barça, he has Barça DNA, has that technical quality, that necessary talent.
“Then it depends on him, his mentality and if he is ready to play in a big team, but for conditions I have no doubt that he could be a great player for Barça.
“It requires all the conditions to be one, then it depends on many things, on the first matches, on the confidence, on his environment.”
Any up and coming playmaker for Barcelona or Spain is inevitably described as ‘the new Xavi’, but the man himself insists that such comparisons are not helpful.
“I do not like that,” he said. “I did not like that I was compared with [Pep] Guardiola or anyone, it’s a weight you have on top of you and that’s not good.
“[Arthur] has to make his career, show his personality, must show that he is a different player and if we let him be calm he will succeed. But it is very difficult in Barça, very difficult.”
Xavi has opted not to retire from football yet, as he about to enter his fourth season playing for Al Sadd in Qatar.
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