Baptista is Gunner be Great

It’s certainly been an interesting week for Arsenal’s Julio Baptista. The 24 year old was given a rapturous reception by a packed Emirates Stadium when he came on as a sub for the last 20 minutes of Brazil’s 3-0 thrashing of Argentina. It was the perfect welcome to his new home, then just days later in a more prosaic setting elsewhere in North London, boos greeted his appearance at White Hart Lane, where he played most of the game in Brazil’s 2-0 victory over Wales – a sure sign that fans of the traditional enemy see him as a threat.

Gunners fans would have been impressed by what they saw. Baptista is a powerful and versatile player with good technique and by all accounts it hasn’t taken him long to decide that when the loan period expires, he’d like to commit his future to Arsenal. And there are already plenty of good judges who are convinced that he can make a huge impact – among them new Brazil manager Dunga, the great Ronaldinho, team mate Gilberto Silva and of course Arsene Wenger.