Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger is a long-term admirer of the versatile Brazilian and when it became apparent he was to leave Sevilla in the summer, instructed his board to lodge a big-money bid.
At one point Arsenal looked front-runners to land the player's signature but a £13.8 million offer from Madrid was enough to tempt Sevilla into a sale and convince Baptista that the Spanish capital would be his next port of call.
Despite an indifferent debut campaign at the Bernabeu, both Baptista and Madrid have picked up of late and they host Arsenal in the type of free-scoring form that looks ominous for Wenger and his side.
Baptista is likely to receive a frosty reception when he plays the return leg at Highbury, but insists he has nothing to prove against the club who pursued him so vigorously in the summer.
''Against Arsenal I have nothing to prove,'' Baptista told skysports.com.
''During the summer I know they were interested in me but finally I accepted Real Madrid.
''Sincerely, it was impossible to reject their offer. For many reasons Real are superior to Arsenal.''
http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid ... 86&cpid=23
eat that Baptista! He didn't even selected for first XI!
At one point Arsenal looked front-runners to land the player's signature but a £13.8 million offer from Madrid was enough to tempt Sevilla into a sale and convince Baptista that the Spanish capital would be his next port of call.
Despite an indifferent debut campaign at the Bernabeu, both Baptista and Madrid have picked up of late and they host Arsenal in the type of free-scoring form that looks ominous for Wenger and his side.
Baptista is likely to receive a frosty reception when he plays the return leg at Highbury, but insists he has nothing to prove against the club who pursued him so vigorously in the summer.
''Against Arsenal I have nothing to prove,'' Baptista told skysports.com.
''During the summer I know they were interested in me but finally I accepted Real Madrid.
''Sincerely, it was impossible to reject their offer. For many reasons Real are superior to Arsenal.''
http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid ... 86&cpid=23
eat that Baptista! He didn't even selected for first XI!