Massimiliano Allegri has decided to leave Arthur Melo out of his matchday squad for Saturday’s trip to Venezia after the player was late to training on Friday.
Juventus are going in search of a fourth straight victory in all competitions, with the Bianconeri up to fifth in Serie A after securing back-to-back wins last week. For Saturday’s bout, Allegri has called upon academy stars Koni De Winter, Matias Soule and Fabio Miretti amid Juve’s lengthy injury list.
Danilo, Aaron Ramsey, Federico Chiesa and Weston McKennie all remain out of action, while Dejan Kulusevski will miss this weekend’s fixture after undergoing minor surgery for sinusitis ahead of the Malmo win.
Allegri confirms why Arthur will miss the Venezia game
#VeneziaJuve in view as Mister Allegri shares his thoughts on tomorrow’s encounter 🗣
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) December 10, 2021
In addition to these absentees, Arthur is also out of the trip to Venice and the manager confirmed why in his pre-match press conference.
“I think it’s not right to be late the day before a game. That’s why he hasn’t been called up,” Allegri revealed on Friday.
However, the manager didn’t appear particularly angry with the Brazilian as he added: “He’ll be back on Tuesday. These things happen during the season.”
A far from ideal situation for Arthur
After Saturday’s Serie A fixture, Juventus close out the calendar year with a trip to Bologna next Saturday before concluding 2021 with a home game against Cagliari the following Tuesday. Allegri suggested that Arthur will be back in contention for those fixtures.
Still, the situation is far from ideal for a player who still needs to prove his worth in Bianconeri colours. The metronomic midfielder earned just his second start of the season against Malmo in the week and looked typically assured but unspectacular.
Juve are ready to refresh their midfield in January and recent reports suggest Arthur could be sacrificed to open up a spot for a new arrival.
Calciomercato.com (via @JuveFC) reported on Friday that Sevilla, Lazio and Freiburg are all interested in the Brazilian, but it’s likely the player will leave the club on loan with potential suitors deterred by Juve’s €35m asking price.