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Barcelona midfielder Arthur summed up how fans were feeling during the first of their La Liga clash with Osasuna on Thursday.
The Catalan giants went into the game needing a win to have any chance of keeping their title hopes alive but went behind went former winger Jose Arnaiz opened the scoring for the visitors.
Barcelona was pretty dismal in the opening 45 minutes, and Arthur made his feelings pretty clear as he watched on from the stands.
😳¿Arthur haciendo un Bale?
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The Brazilian was named on the bench again by manager Quique Setien. Arthur has managed just four minutes of action for Barcelona since it was announced in June he would be joining Juventus at the end of the season.
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Setien Surprises With His Lineup
Setien raised a few eyebrows with his line-up for the game. The boss opted to rest Sergio Busquets, Arturo Vidal, and Luis Suarez and handed rare starts to Martin Braithwaite, Junior Firpo, and Riqui Puig.
Yet his team offered very little in an attacking sense. Lionel Messi’s free-kick that hit the crossbar was the closest the hosts came to a goal in the first period at the Camp Nou.
There was plenty of criticism for Barcelona’s performance in the first half.
I like Riqui Puig and Messi’s passing. I don’t like anything else.
Setien’s Barcelona doesn’t look better than Valverde’s [at least result-wise]. That decision to sack Valverde, after two league titles, with his side on top of the table, increasingly looks like a terrible one.
Barcelona looked to have salvaged a point when Lionel Messi popped up in the second half with a brilliant free-kick to make it 1-1. Osasuna were also reduced to 10 men when Enric Gallego was sent off but still won it late on when Roberto Torres struck.
Arthur to Stay on the Bench?
Meanwhile, Arthur may need to get used to watching Barcelona from the bench for the remainder of the season. Setien made it pretty clear in his pre-match press conference that he would only be selecting the Brazilian for future games if there was no other alternative.
Setien essentially saying Arthur will only play for Barça again if absolutely necessary. That may be the case vs. Napoli, though, with Busquets & Vidal banned.
Barcelona play their final La Liga game of the season on Sunday away at Alaves and will then turn their attentions to the Champions League and a last-16 second leg against Napoli.
Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal are both banned for that game but there’s no guarantee that means a start for Arthur. Setien still has Ivan Rakitic, Frenkie de Jong, Sergi Roberto, and Riqui Puig available and ahead of the Brazilian in the pecking order.
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