Baptista?

[RedWally]

http://www.premiershiplatest.com/news/liverpool-table-13-5m-offer-for-real-mad-554670.html

[paddyb]

cant see this happening unless crouch is on his way out
even if that happens he was so inconsistent at arsenal

[RedWally]

A bit of musical chairs maybe!

Martins to Arsenal from Newcastle?
Crouch to Newcastle from Pool??
Baptista to ???

[megager]

Can he play centre half. If he comes, then it definately means crouch is gone. Does this have anything to do with his 4 goals against us?

[Gerry]

Would be very surprised if this happens ! i hope its all boll*x talk ! i hope the link to that site does not quote or take news from a certain rag which we all despise !

[paddyb]

Would be very surprised if this happens ! i hope its all boll*x talk ! i hope the link to that site does not quote or take news from a certain rag which we all despise !

its from marca

[Badman]

Hope its just tabloid-talk - saw the guy last year a few times and he was crap - if he was any good Wenger would've kept him (he's still one of the best judges of player in the prem, makes very few mistakes), and he had zero faith in him after about half a game. Think wenger brought him in to give them a bit of muscle up front (frank bruno would've been cheaper) but he has the first touch of a giraffe and doesnt really know what to do when he gets the ball. Unless rafa knows something we dont or the guy improves 500% I dont think he adds anything to the squad. Surely if he has close to 15m left in the coffers its a centreback we need - agger has been sluggish so far and hyppia is pushing 60..and now with carra out for a few wks possibly, its a necessity. Thank God we're not playing another top 4 side in the next few games.
Trouble is, how many top class centre backs are there out there...and available. How much would Micah Richards cost us??

[cianomahony]

I think we should stick with crouchy, he gives us more options and is younger!! Baptista taking the season as a whole hardly caused a ripple at Arsenal, due to his inconsistency! Something we want to leave behind!! I believe Crouch will leave us in the end but I think he is a crucial part of the machinery at the present if we are to have a sustained assault on the title!! In saying all of the above, In Rafa I Trust!!

[homer1]

Baptista was an animal a few years back at Seville and Rafa was in for him big time before he went to Real, since then his career has stalled and then gone backwards.

Although I wouldn't be completely against him coming on board, I wouldn't be happy if we were spending that kind of money on him

[Alvaro]

please tell me this is just sensational fodder :( ....surely this cant be an option for Rafa if Arsenal had all that time with him in training and playing and decided against him......... surely its a CB or creativity we need and not Bambi on ice as Baptista seemed to be in alot of games for Arsenal!!!

[Alex Raisbeck]

cant see this happening unless crouch is on his way out
even if that happens he was so inconsistent at arsenal
My thoughts when I saw it first, even if crouchy went, id want a better replacement.
Hopefully just nonsense.

[Aido82]

id say its just paper talk, rafa is looking for a cb not a striker

[loppy]

:eek:i hope this is rubbish, not a liverpool player by a long stretch of the imagination.:confused:

[KOPITE55]

its gotta be crap.lets be honest, we have what looks like 4 good strikers at the mo.Why would we swquander millions on a luxury player that failed to make it in the PL already?

[Alex Raisbeck]

its gotta be crap.lets be honest, we have what looks like 4 good strikers at the mo.Why would we swquander millions on a luxury player that failed to make it in the PL already?
Agree, but he is not a luxury player in my opinion, he is a bruiser (supposedly).

[redeagle]

never really impressed me at arsenal. missed so many chances..

he was class when he played for sevilla but he looks out of his depth in the PL

[Dub13]

Some words Baptista time with Arsenal,nicked from another site.

“The teams from the north of England are terrible,” said Baptista in The Times.

“When we play them I have counted their centre-backs booting up to 30 long balls upfield per game.

“The weather over here is killing me. We’ll get one day of sunshine for every 30 days of rain, and it is driving me to despair.

“My girlfriend and my mother are frightened about not seeing the sun in England. They miss being in Madrid.

“Premiership football is very hard. I am Brazilian and I enjoy playing the ball, making clever touches and taking bicycle kicks. Arsene Wenger does not forbid me from doing them, but the game is so fast I don’t even have time to think about them.

“The moment you stop to think, someone has taken the ball off you and knocked you to the ground. Over here they value a corner kick more than a fancy flick.

“I am lucky to be with Arsenal, as they are a team that likes to play proper football.”