Arthur Melo has seemingly found a new lease of life at Juventus - despite ongoing talks over a move to Arsenal.
The Brazil international has featured in four of Juventus ' last five fixtures having previously found himself out of favour in Turin.
Mikel Arteta is a keen admirer of the former Barcelona star and Arsenal technical director Edu held discussions with the player's representatives at their London Colney training ground this week.
But there remain stumbling blocks in getting a deal done - and Arthur is becoming increasingly important to the Juventus side as talks drag on.
The 25-year-old missed the opening stages of what has been an underwhelming campaign so far for Massimiliano Allegri's men after undergoing surgery on a right-leg injury that kept him out of action for three months.
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His first taste of Serie A action this term did not come until mid-way through October when he was introduced off the bench for a 15-minute cameo against Roma.
November and December passed Arthur by with very little to note, his only Champions League start coming against Malmo in a dead-rubber when Juventus had already secured their passage into the last-16 of the competition.
However, since the turn of the year Arthur has been an ever-present in Juventus contests even though the rumours surrounding a loan switch to the Gunners continue to linger.
Arthur came off the bench during the dramatic Supercoppa defeat by Inter Milan earlier this month and started from the outset against Sampdoria this week.
On the one hand, it may be welcomed by Arsenal boss Arteta as it means if Arthur were to spend the rest of the season in north London he would have a sufficient amount of minutes under his belt before he gets started with the Gunners.
On the contrary, if Arthur enhances his reputation after being given the opportunity in Turin it could make negotiations with Juventus harder as well as potentially attract other suitors.
At the very least, it will likely make Juventus less inclined to reduce their demands regarding any deal with Arsenal.
He has fared well in the majority of his outings this season, particularly the dramatic 4-3 comeback victory over AS Roma earlier this month.
Arthur was introduced to proceedings while his side were 3-1 down with 25 minutes left to play, but by the time final whistle had blown Juventus ran out 4-3 victors.
While he is not the first name on the team-sheet, the rise in playing time in Turin suggests Juventus are not willing to sanction his loan departure before they line up a replacement.
That is at least one of the reasons behind the hold-up in Arsenal's pursuit of his signature.
Another is the fact that Juventus are keen on including an option-to-buy clause in Arthur's loan contract at Arsenal, while the Gunners would favour just a straight loan.
