Baptista moves to Arsenal as Reyes joins Real Madrid.

Brazilian international Julio Baptista has joined Arsenal from La Liga side Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee, with Gunners forward Jose Antonio Reyes joining the Spanish side in a reverse move.

Baptista (24) can play in midfield or as a forward and has been a target of the Club for some time, attracting attention with performances in Spain with Sevilla where he scored an impressive 38 goals from 63 appearances in two seasons, including five goals in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup campaign. Nicknamed ‘the Beast’, Julio joined Real Madrid last season and scored nine goals in 45 appearances which include the Champions League fixtures against Arsenal.

The 24 year old has also made 18 international appearances for his country scoring three goals, and while not called up for the 2006 World Cup was a member of Brazil’s winning squads at both the 2004 Copa America and also last year’s Confederations Cup.

Arsenal and Spain forward Jose Antonio Reyes appeared in all five competitions last season making a total of 110 appearances scoring 23 goals, and to date has won championship and FA Cup honours with Arsenal.

Reyes (22) has made 21 appearances for the Spanish national side and made one appearance at the 2006 World Cup, setting up the only goal in the win over Saudi Arabia.

Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager said: “Julio Baptista will be a great addition to our squad. He is a powerful young international and is a versatile footballer who can operate both in midfield and as a striker. He has shown his potential over the past few seasons in Spain with both Real Madrid and Sevilla and we’re looking forward to him joining us. While welcoming Julio we would like to wish Jose the best of luck for his time in Spain.”