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Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde started Arthur in midfield against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley and since then he has impressed with his displays, including the fixtures against Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

The Brazilian arrived at Camp Nou from Gremio in the summer after the two clubs agreed a deal for the 22-year-old in March.

Monday’s edition of Spanish newspaper AS claims the South American star moved to the Catalan club because of the ‘stubbornness’ of the club’s former technical secretary, Robert Fernandez.

The Spaniard was replaced by Eric Abidal in the summer and the former chief played a key role in bringing the player to the club, despite there being ‘suspicions’ about his signing.

However, things have been different now and Arthur has become a favourite, both for Barcelona his teammates and for the Blaugrana fans. 

The report also mentions that his signing has brought balance at Barca and even without coming through the ranks of La Masia, the midfielder was successful in emulating Xavi’s style of play in his first El Clasico on Sunday.