'He is immensely powerful and scores goals from midfield'
By Chris Harris
Julio Baptista may have been surplus to requirements at Real Madrid but he could be just what Arsenal need.
The Brazilian completed a move to Emirates Stadium on transfer-deadline day while Jose Antonio Reyes headed in the opposite direction. According to Inigo Gurruchaga, a journalist at Spanish newspaper El Correo, Baptista will give Arsène Wenger's squad a new dimension.
"I think he is a very good signing," Gurruchaga told Arsenal.com. "He is an immensely powerful player, he has great physical presence and is a very versatile midfielder. He moves the ball well and is very dangerous when he attacks from midfield and gets into the area, like Steven Gerrard does at Liverpool.
"He can play in Gilberto's position or in a more expansive role like Fabregas. And he is very direct. He doesn't have the touch of Fabregas but he will give Arsenal something different, someone who will get to the edge of the box and have a shot instead of looking for the quick one-two with a team-mate. Tomas Rosicky showed in the World Cup that he can shoot from distance but Baptista will shoot even harder than the others. He has a strong shot and has aerial power too.
"He is not particularly quick and I can't really see him as a striker, he is more effective as someone who takes up very good attacking positions from midfield."
Gurruchaga saw Baptista bloom in La Liga. The Brazilian was a revelation at Sevilla, earning himself a transfer to Real Madrid last summer after a string of explosive performances. Baptista failed to make an impression at Madrid but, as Gurruchaga says, he could hardly be blamed.
"Madrid's policy was to play technical players in every position, they didn't even try Baptista in his best role. Now he is surplus to requirements in Fabio Capello's Madrid side because of the way the team has been shaped.
"Capello no doubt recognises Baptista's qualities but would have struggled to fit him in when he has Diarra and Emerson in holding positions in the centre of midfield. Capello needs wingers in that formation and I don't think Baptista is someone who can do that so well. He is more a guy who comes from central positions.
"That is where he played at Sevilla and he was a crucial man for them. He is seen as the man who brought a renaissance to the team. Sevilla were suddenly a different team, a very hard-tackling side, the like of which had not been seen in Spain for a number of years. Baptista could dominate matches with his power and, when he went to Madrid, Sevilla had to change."
Now that 'power' resides at Emirates Stadium. It's hard to argue with Arsenal's technical merits, but some have questioned their physical prowess since Patrick Vieira's departure last summer. Gurruchaga expects Baptista to give the Gunners more muscle when it matters.
"Wenger's Arsenal always had awesome power with Vieira and Petit in midfield and Baptista, although not the same style of player as those two, will give them that power again," he said. "He is a man who can help them away from home when the game is a bit more muscular, as it was at Bolton and Blackburn last season. Baptista is not like Vieira as a player, he attacks more, but his power is the same."
