Arrascaeta no longer the star, but lifts team-mates and decides big matches | OneFootball

From undisputed star to playmaker: Arrascaeta’s changing role

Arrascaeta is going through a different moment in his career, and that says a lot about Flamengo’s tactical evolution after the coaching change. In 2025, the team led by Filipe Luís basically played to open up space for the number 10.

The coach’s movements and ideas were aimed at always leaving him in the final phase of the play. It’s no surprise that, in the 2025 season, Arrascaeta recorded the highest number of goals and assists of his career. However, under Leonardo Jardim, the midfielder has stopped being such a finishing presence in attacking moves.

As a result, Arrascaeta has started to appear earlier, in the build-up, taking part more in creating chances than in finishing them. This change, however, does not reduce the importance of the number 10: it simply redistributes the roles within the team.

In this way, Arrascaeta swaps individual prominence for a role that also helps his teammates grow. Consequently, both the number 10 and the rest of the squad help Flamengo grow collectively in pursuit of the season’s objectives.

Arrascaeta still decides important matches, even in his new role

Even so, no one should mistake this change of role for a loss of importance. The number 10 is still deciding important matches, just in a different way. After all, it was Arrascaeta who provided the assist for Samuel Lino’s goal in the win over Remo.

In addition, the clearest example came in the most important match of the season so far. In the 2-1 win over Cruzeiro in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores round of 16, Arrascaeta scored Flamengo’s first goal. He was also directly involved in the move for the second, scored by Samuel Lino.

What is Flamengo’s next match?

With Arrascaeta available, Flamengo face Independiente del Valle (ECU) this Thursday (10) in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals. The match will take place at the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito, at approximately 2,900 meters above sea level, at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time).

This factor, therefore, demands extra attention from the squad even before the ball starts rolling. Having a sharp Arrascaeta in this context could be decisive against a tough opponent away from home. Thus, Flamengo supporters head into the match hoping to see the number 10 make the difference away from home once again. However, the result in Quito will also depend on the team as a whole, not just on one player.

In any case, winning away from home would be an important step toward the Copa Libertadores semi-finals. Flamengo now need to repeat in Ecuador the level they showed against Cruzeiro. It is worth remembering that the second leg against Independiente del Valle will take place on September 17 at the Maracanã.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.