Arsenal look to be edging closer to landing Real Madrid and German World Cup winner Sami Khedira, after it was reported that the two clubs had agreed a fee for the 27-year-old.
The Gunners have enjoyed a good relationship with Los Blancos in recent years, most notably landing Mesut Ozil on the final day of the 2013 summer transfer window in a club record deal. However, it is the arrival of another Real midfielder in the summer of 2006 that is the subject here, as Arsene Wenger finally managed to get his hands on ‘the Beast’ Julio Baptista – albeit on loan.
Wenger had been trying to sign the Brazilian for two years, but came up short as the opportunity to play for Real proved too hard to resist. After a difficult debut season though, he was listed by Madrid, and Arsenal offered him a home, with Jose Antonio Reyes heading in the opposite direction.
Some labelled him a flop, but to others Baptista’s time in north London came to be defined by a single performance as the barrel-chested midfielder scored four times in 44 minutes and missed a penalty during an extraordinary League Cup quarter final match against Liverpool that ended 6-3 to Arsenal.
Sadly, it wasn’t all roses for Baptista at Arsenal though. Initial struggles to adapt to English football blighted the opening months of his season, and he was largely judged on his comparably poor scoring record (three goals in 24 Premier League matches).
Wenger however, stuck by him and over the course of his solitary campaign Baptista registered 35 appearances in all competitions, scoring 10 goals – further endearing himself to Arsenal fans by scoring twice against rivals Tottenham in the semi final of the League Cup.
Ultimately his time in England would be short-lived, although he admitted a year later that he wanted to make his stay permanent, but the deal hinged on Reyes remaining in Madrid.
“I loved being in London, it was one of the big experiences of my life to live there. A big metropolis, like the centre of the world, I really enjoyed it,” he said in an interview in 2008.
“I learnt a lot of things from Wenger, one of the top-class coaches in Europe today, and I wantedto stay. But in the end Real Madrid didn't want to do business with Reyes, so it could not be. My best memory was to score four goals at Liverpool.”
He eventually returned to Madrid, but despite a strong season was unable to salvage his career at the club and was eventually sold to Serie A side Roma.
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