By Myles Palmer
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THE FORMAT needed a shake-up.
I knew that and it’s obvious that Arsene knew that.
He signs Hleb, who is a cross between Beckham and Kanchelskis.
Hleb delivers a great ball, but he is also a fast dribbler.
Henry and Pires don’t go for 50-50 balls in the box.
They are not warriors.
So you need a striker in the box to aim at.
BAPTISTA THE BEAST is that man.
The Brazilian is a very strong player.
WHY DID I always believe Arsene would sign Baptista?
Because Hleb without Baptista would be the sound of one hand clapping.
If you have one, you need the other.
In no time at all Hleb could start providing goal after goal, as Beckham did for Van Nistelrooy.
MARCA, Spanish sports daily, have just announced that Baptista is joining Arsenal for 20 million euros.
We assume the deal is conditional on him getting a work permit.
Yesterday Arsene asked us to trust him.
We do trust him.
The Professor sells Vieira for 20 million euros on Thursday and then buys Julio Baptista for 20 million euros on Friday.
What’s not to trust?
The weekend starts here !
7.50 pm Friday 15th July