When Julio Baptista joined Arsenal in August he cannot have envisaged reaching Christmas with only two starts to his name, but the Brazilian will add to that total today as Arsene Wenger challenges him to show he is worth a long-term move to the club over the summer.
Baptista joined from Real Madrid on a season's loan and has been restricted by injury, a settling-in period and form not strong enough to earn him a regular place. The 25-year-old will get a rare opportunity to impress amid injury problems that have left Arsenal without nine players at Sheffield United today.
Emmanuel Adebayor, Alex Hleb, Theo Walcott, Freddie Ljungberg and Thierry Henry are the absent attackers, and that has opened the door for Baptista.
"The next six months he has a lot to prove," Wenger said, addressing the issue of whether to buy him. "I am leaning more one way than the other but I will not give you the way."
He feels it is now reasonable to expect the best from Baptista after an adaptation phase in England.
"I think he is ready to play," the manager said, though Baptista is one of four Arsenal players - with Cesc Fabregas, Jeremie Aliadiere and Alex Song - who have colds. "The problem he has for me is to give him the number of opportunities he deserves. I like him as a player but I agree he didn't get the opportunities to show how good he is."
Wenger hopes Baptista can demonstrate, starting at Bramall Lane, his threat as a goalscorer. The former Sevilla player has found the net only once in 11 Arsenal appearances, albeit nine have been as a substitute.
"He can arrive late into the box," Wenger said. "He is a fox in the box, he's good in the air. He's a good player but he needs to get a few games to show how good he is."
Wenger tried to sign Baptista in the summer of 2005 but had to wait a year to get him as part of a deal that took Jose Antonio Reyes to Real Madrid. Baptista had found his opportunities limited at the Bernabeu and arguably that has stunted his development.
"He had not played much football before he joined us," Wenger said. "It's a vicious circle. It is a difficult job being a footballer. When you get the chance you must be ready but the only thing I can say is that in training I have not seen one minute when he has not been completely dedicated."
Arsenal's injury list today is completed by William Gallas, Emmanuel Eboue, Johan Djourou and Abou Diaby.
Meanwhile, Wenger has confirmed he will contest an English FA charge of improper conduct for comments made to the referee, Steve Bennett, during the home draw with Portsmouth this month. ...
Guardian Service
