The man who discovered Arthur gives his insight on Barça's new signing

Arthur's journey to becoming a professional footballer began in his home town of Goiania. When he was just five years old, he signed up to ‘Showbol Escolinha de Futebol do Niltinho’. This is a football academy which has been run for the last 12 years by former footballer Nilton Santos de Almeida. The 51-year-old coach has seen over 1,500 children spend time in his centre. During his time as a footballer he was known as Niltinho Maravilha, because of natural ability, and the left footed winger shined when playing for Goias, the club he is currently the U17 coach for. Arthur's first coach spoke to SPORT to analyse the player's development as he begins his adventure with Barcelona. 

Do you remember when Arthur joined your school?

Yes, of course. He was around five years old. His father, Ailton, brought him as well as his brother Paulo Henrique to the centre. Those two were always together, even trained together, but they played in different teams because Arthur was three years younger than his brother Paulo. 

What did Arthur learn during his time there?

Our philosophy is to work on the basic fundamentals of football. Afterwards we let the children development their own style of football, something which is very common here in Brazil in order to not impede their creativity. 

Did anything stand out with Arthur?

Although he was very young, you noticed Arthur because of how easy he made everything look; he was very resourceful. He scored goals, carried the ball forward and found his teammates in space. He worked extremely hard. 

Was he the star of the team?

Look, at times football doesn't make sense. Arthur had very different qualities but there were other boys in his age group who we were sure would go far but they didn't even make it to professional football. Do you know why Arthur did?

Tell us…

Because his family gave him a very well structured personal life. They let him leave Goiania at just 14 years of age so that he could live alone in Porto Alegre and play for Gremio. And also, Arthur was very determined. He wanted to take advantage of every opportunity which came his way. Very few arrive at a club such as Barcelona but Arthur is there because he gave everything he had. That's something he's always done, even when he was very young.

Were Arthur's family aware of his potential?

Yes, his father and I are cousins. Ailton tried to make it as a professional footballer. He played as an amateur and understood the game really well. In fact, Arthur's style is very similar to that of his father. Ailton knew how talented Arthur was because he went to every training session and came to every match, helping me take all the children in his car. 

And how did the 'young' Arthur play?

Since the beginning he played in central midfield. We trained on a 7-a-side football pitch but we played on a bigger one. Because he had a good set of lungs on him, he ran for the whole team and controlled the ball well. For this reason he always played as a '5' or '8', which is where he still plays now. In some matches I even played him further forward as a '10'.

What was his style?

He was a very perceptive footballer and carries the ball really well. Since he was a child, one aspect of his style which is really important is that he loves to find his teammates as well as creating space for them. He always goes forward. It's a gift he has. 

And how did Arthur behave?

He didn't like losing. If a result wasn't particularly good, he was angry. As we say here: "ficava puto” - he got pissed off.

Was he very competitive?

Yes. His family had a football pitch at their country house. When we went there, we played with his father, his grandad, his brother, an uncle of his, Arthur and myself. It was 3 vs 3. I remember when he was 10 years old that to get the ball past him, I needed to push Arthur away. When I got past him, there he was again, pressuring me again. His perception was really good for a boy of his age and size. He was always physically strong, knew how to mark his man and even now continues to win back possession without commiting many fouls. 

How did Arthur end up signing for Goiás?

It was normal that he'd end up at a great team here in Goiania. It wasn't because of just one match. We played against Goias' school quite often and Arthur always stood out. And one day they asked him to go on trial there. He trained for one or two months in a team called 'pre-team' and afterwards they signed him to a deal. He was there until he turned 14 and joined Gremio.