Jose Arnaiz was, undoubtedly, the best performer in Barcelona’s Copa del Rey victory (0-3) in Murcia in midweek. The Barca B forward seemed slightly overwhelmed in the early stages of the match but, fortunately, came to life after the half-time break and went on to deliver the most encouraging debut performance from a B player in recent times.
Arnaiz did not come out of nowhere, however. The 22-year-old has been consistently impressive for Barca B this season, adding a remarkable four goals and three assists in nine Segunda Division appearances for Gerard Lopez’s side.
Scouted by Guillermo Amor, Jose Maria Bakero and Pep Segura during the summer transfer window, the €3.4 million invested as a transfer fee could very well end up being the bargain of the year – especially when we consider major teams such as Juventus, Napoli, Betis and even Real Madrid all made similar economical offers to the player.
Deployed as a left winger by Ernesto Valverde on his first team debut, Arnaiz displayed plenty of skill in a very short space of time, with his constant diagonal runs, powerful shooting, verticality, bravery when facing rivals one-on-one and ability to play with both feet certainly not going unnoticed.
We also discussed Arnaiz’s confident dribbling and ability to quickly identify empty spaces in our latest episode of The Barcelona Podcast. We also debated whether he should be promoted to the first team immediately or continue developing in the Segunda Division. Check it out here:
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