Arthur Melo has shown his class with a public reflection on his luckless loan spell with Liverpool.
The 26-year-old joined the Reds from Juventus on a temporary basis on last summer’s transfer deadline day, but anything which could’ve gone wrong for him since then has gone wrong.
It’s now been eight months since his one and only appearance for Jurgen Klopp’s side – a 13-minute cameo off the bench in the 4-1 Champions League defeat away to Napoli (Transfermarkt), with surgery on a thigh injury the primary reason for him not playing since.
Arthur was speaking to GOAL when he reflected on his time at Anfield, saying: “Since I arrived, Klopp has treated me really well.
“It is an honour for me to work with Jurgen. He is one of the best coaches in the world, he has always spoken well of me, he is someone incredible and the treatment has always been really good, elegant and special.
“The fact of being able to train with someone like him always gives you a lot as a player and I’m sure it’s useful for what’s to come because you learn a lot from him.
“Now that I’m recovered, I would obviously like to be able to play more, but I can understand that the situation now is different from what happened when I arrived, because at that time the team had some needs and now it has others
“But I have the peace of mind that when I talk to them and they tell me that no one has any complaints with me, quite the opposite. Also all of Liverpool in general, they have treated me great and I only have good words for them and a very special affection.”
He also seemed to confirm that he’ll be going back to Juventus, stating: “Hopefully I have an option to say goodbye in Liverpool by playing something, to say goodbye to my team-mates, the technical committee and the fans, who have been very good to me.”
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While Arthur’s loan spell hasn’t worked out how anyone would’ve wanted, these comments from the Brazilian reflect extremely well on him, with nothing but positivity despite his complete lack of fortune over the last eight months.
A combination of that long-term injury, the September calendar being ripped up by rescheduling owing to the death of the Queen, and his omission from the Champions League knockout rounds squad have all conspired against him (The Athletic).
He never had a fair opportunity to demonstrate what he could do for Liverpool’s first team, but the willingness of the Juventus and ex-Barcelona midfielder to play in the Papa Johns Trophy for the Reds’ under-21s shows a tremendous attitude on his part.
Also, as James Pearce pointed out for The Athletic, he’s been a ‘consummate professional’ on Merseyside, with nobody in the squad or coaching staff having ‘a bad word to say’ about the 26-year-old.
Arthur will return to his parent club once the season ends, but if he’s ever back at Anfield in any other capacity in the future, he deserves a very warm welcome considering the upbeat demeanour he’s shown despite the series of misfortune which has befallen him in recent months.