Arturo Vidal has his sights set on starting every match for Barcelona, according to sources close to the midfielder, with his game time at Camp Nou having been limited since arriving from Bayern Munich.
The Chile international made the switch from the Bundesliga champions in August this year, but the form of Ivan Rakitic and fellow new-boy Arthur has seen time on the pitch restricted, often making appearances off the bench.
A crunch La Liga clash with Atletico Madrid is coming up on Saturday, however, and the ever-present Rakitic is suspended for the match after being shown a red card in Barca's 4-3 loss to Real Betis – a game in which Vidal bagged both a goal an assist.
The 31-year-old, who also found the net in the Blaugrana's recent 5-1 demolition of Real Madrid, is confident regarding his chances of starting in place of the suspended Rakitic, telling reporters after Chile's clash with Honduras that he “only played 50 minutes because of the Atletico match”.
And, despite his relatively advanced age, Vidal has his sights set on starting more regularly for the Spanish giants, with an eye on winning as many titles as possible during his time with the club.
Getty/Goal
“He works and trains with his mind on being in the starting line-up for every match,” sources close to the player told Goal.
“He understands that he isn't a guaranteed starter because it is all a part of the process. But his qualities have grown throughout his time in Europe, even though he obviously plays with intense emotion.
“He went to Barcelona because the club wanted a player with Arturo's qualities. He's constantly working towards winning every title he can with the club.”
Indeed, the Spanish champions' defence of last season's title has been buoyed in part by Real Madrid's poor start to the season, but Barca have had a few hiccups of their own this term as they sit just one point ahead of the chasing pack at the top of La Liga.
With Sevilla, Alaves and Saturday's opponents Atleti all sitting in joint second with 23 points, a win for Vidal and Barca at the Wanda Metropolitano would go a long way in showing the club's intent for the remainder of the season.
