Arthur Melo has listed some of the reasons why he decided to join Fiorentina on a season-long loan deal from Juventus in a recent interview with Sport Mediaset.
The 26-year-old returned to Turin this summer following a disastrous spell spent on loan with Liverpool in 2022-23, during which time he was limited to just 13 minutes of action for Jurgen Klopp’s first team side.
Now, the former Barcelona midfielder is set for a fresh start under Vincenzo Italiano in Tuscany and he feels as though he has already settled in.
“I really like it here, I already knew some of the players on the team,” Arthur told the Italian outlet. “It’s easier to get to a place if you already know someone, I feel very comfortable and I want to learn, to start the championship right away.”
Arthur then revealed that Italiano was one of the major factors that contributed to his decision to sign for Fiorentina.
“I didn’t know him personally, but I had watched his team’s matches and I like the way he plays. Fiorentina had a good season last year and when the opportunity arose to come here I was very happy.
“Then the coach called me, after I spoke to him I was 100% sure that this was the right place for. We talked a lot, he was very good with me and now I can learn a lot from him.”
Arthur continued: “This is a beautiful club with a wonderful training centre. I’m sure I made the right choice. There’s a hunger to win and I have it too.”
While at Liverpool last season, Arthur suffered significantly from injury and fitness issues and by the end of his time at Anfield had made more appearances for the reserve side than the first team.
“The injury I had at Juventus and then at Liverpool made things difficult for me,” he explained. “It was a huge blow. But this is football, it can happen. I learned a lot, I had time to work and grow. Now I look to the good things that lie ahead of us”.
“Now I want to do things well. I really wanted to come here, it was nice that the club did everything to get me there. Now, I want to have a good season. I want to win and learn and then we’ll see what happens.”