Julio Baptista, Arsenal's joy from Brazil

On Tuesday night, Julio ‘Beast’ Baptista ripped an ineffective Liverpool side to pieces with verve, flair and not a little power. It is something Arsenal fans had not really seen from the midfielder so far in his time with the club, but a glance back at his pre-Real Madrid record suggests it was always on the cards.

A few eyebrows were raised across north London earlier this year when homesick wonderkid Jose Antonio Reyes was sent to Real Madrid, with a relatively unknown Brazilian (outside Spain) lacking in international caps coming the other way. However, his performance in the Carling Cup against Liverpool has justified Arsene Wenger’s faith in his new signing, and he should go on to cement a place in the team.

Baptista's class and pedigree are not in doubt to those who followed his early career from Sao Paulo to Sevilla. Starting off as a defensive midfielder at the Brazilian club, his striking potential was quickly noticed as he notched 10 goals in 42 appearances, and he was pushed forward into attacking midfield. His blistering form caused a host of Spanish clubs to come calling, with Sevilla eventually gaining his signature. Between 2003 and 2005 he made 63 appearances and scored 38 goals for Sevilla, becoming a cult hero and firing them into the top half of the table. Then came his unsuccessful £13m move to Madrid where he never really hit top form.

Wenger, never one to miss a trick, saw in the Reyes drama an opportunity to get hold of a long-term transfer target who could do a far better job for the team than a half-hearted Reyes ever could. He has bagged a player who could make all the difference to Arsenal in the coming seasons. Baptista gives Wenger options in a way the Spaniard never could. He can play in three positions, defensive-attacking midfield or up front. He provides the physical presence Arsenal so often lack against the likes of Bolton or Blackburn, and most importantly he will never give up and his head rarely goes down. In these situations where Arsenal’s pretty total football is not working, they can rely on Baptista to drive them forward with pace and power that the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini do not have.