Skip to content
Arthur Melo earns place in Liverpool history as loan move memorable in unexpected way
It is destined to become one of those moments that separates the wheat from the chaff, highlighting the true hardcore Liverpool support from the mere regular punters.
Were you there when Arthur Melo made his sole appearance for the Reds?
Of course, nobody knew that when the Brazilian trotted on with 13 minutes remaining of the 4-1 defeat at Napoli in Liverpool’s Champions League group opener back in September it would be the only time the on-loan midfielder featured for the senior team.
TRANSFER LATEST: Live updates on Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Tielemans and more
READ MORE: Alexis Mac Allister breaks silence on Liverpool and transfer to ‘next club’
Yes, there was a run-out in the Papa John’s Trophy at Rochdale before being replaced by Jay Spearing, but that was an under-21 side. But the few thousand Liverpool supporters who braved the trip to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona are the rare few who can claim to having watched a small bit of history being made.
It wasn’t Arthur’s fault his deadline-beating, season-long arrival from Juventus quickly turned sour as a serious thigh injury requiring surgery left him on the sidelines for four months. By the time he returned in February, the 26-year-old found it impossible to force his way into a midfield that, while largely underperforming, had already evolved beyond his possible contribution.
Arthur was on the bench six times in the closing three months of the season, including the final day at Southampton. That Jurgen Klopp chose not to give him a runout in the final moments of a dead rubber despite having a substitution in hand demonstrated how the Liverpool boss had already moved on, eyes set firmly on the future.
The Brazilian, though, is philosophical about his time at Liverpool. “Since I arrived, Klopp has treated me really well,” said Arthur last month. “He is one of the best coaches in the world, he has always spoken well of me. 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.
“I can understand that the situation now is different from 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. Liverpool have treated me great and I only have good words for them and a very special affection.”
Arthur will forever be one of the great curios of recent Anfield times. Nevertheless, his brief outing was still one more than Ben Davies managed during his brief Liverpool career having joined from Preston North End in February 2021, despite being named among the substitutes eight times.
Going back further, there have been other players who arrived with a modicum of fanfare only to swiftly disappear. Frank McGarvey was a big-money signing from St Mirren in 1979 but didn’t make a single appearance before going back north of the border to Celtic the following year, while Wayne Harrison was feted as a future superstar when he became the world’s most expensive 17-year-old when arriving from Oldham Athletic in 1985. Relentless injuries meant he also failed to have a senior outing and retired aged 23.
The Premier League era has seen some fleeting Reds spells. Often they are on-loan goalkeepers – Patrice Luzi, Paul Jones and Daniele Padelli spring to mind – while midfielder Jean Michel-Ferri managed just 50 minutes over two outings during eight months under Gerard Houllier.
Arthur, though, isn’t even in the top five of shortest senior Liverpool careers of those who players who featured just once before leaving.
The earliest was way back in 1967, when Dave Wilson, who had joined from Preston North End a few months earlier, played for 10 minutes at the end of a 3-1 home defeat to Blackpool. He rejoined Preston 12 months later.
The remainder, though, are all in the modern era. Also featuring for only 10 minutes was Sergi Canos in the final Premier League game of the 2015/16 season, a 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion. After a brief spell at Norwich City, Canos – who is still only 26 – has played almost 250 games for Brentford but spent the second half of the season on loan at Olympiacos in Greece.
Joe Hardy was bought from Brentford to bolster the Liverpool U23s forward line in January 2020, but within a month had played the final eight minutes of the FA Cup fourth round win over Shrewsbury Town. He joined Accrington Stanley in July 2021, and has just been released.
Lauri Dalla Valle was signed from Finland and played seven minutes in the Europa League qualifier in Rabotnicki in July 2010, but had gone within two months to join Fulham.
But the story of the player with the shortest Liverpool career is also the most tragic, Miki Roque given just six minutes as a teenager in the Champions League at Galatasaray in December 2006. He left for Real Betis in the summer of 2009, but three years later died of pelvic cancer at the age of only 23.
READ NEXT
