Jose Antonio Reyes has signed for Spanish second division side Extremadura until the end of the season but the reasons he left Arsenal are worth looking back on.
2Arsenal face Manchester United on Friday night, with the fixture draped in fiery controversy.
by Lewis Ambrose
At least it’s not at Old Trafford, a ground that isn’t fondly remembered by any and arguably the venue for the destruction of one of Arsenal’s brightest ever young talents.
Visits to Old Trafford in 1990/91 and 2003/04 seasons had, respectively, seen points deductions and the biggest ever fine handed out by The FA.
Manchester United’s conduct in October 2004, however, was never dealt with.
The following season saw Arsenal go to Old Trafford having gone 49 games unbeaten.
The physical tactics employed by Manchester United had the desired effect of ending Arsenal’s record run, and none felt it more so than José Antonio Reyes.
Blistering
Reyes had enjoyed one hell of a start to his Arsenal career.
An own goal at Middlesbrough arguably came to sum up his time at the club better, but he went on to announce himself with a thunderbolt against Chelsea in the FA Cup.
With Thierry Henry missing and Arsenal behind, Reyes stepped up and scored two goals. Another goal against Chelsea saw Arsenal take the lead in that ill-fated Champions League quarter-final, but it was already clear how much Arsène Wenger trusted the Spaniard.
After the side had clinched the league title Reyes helped us complete our unbeaten season with an equaliser in a lacklustre 1-1 draw at Portsmouth, before scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win against Fulham.
He had been signed halfway through that 2003/04 campaign, with Arsène Wenger saying: “I bought him in January because I know you need six months to adapt, so he should be ready for next season and show how good a player he is.”
The Arsenal manager wasn’t wrong.
A good pre-season was followed up by a dazzling Community Shield performance. The BBC report from that day hailed the performance of a young man –“The mercurial Spaniard was a thorn in United’s side.”
A goal and assist, as well as a glorious dribble from which he could’ve scored a classic goal, may well have been his downfall, warning United of his talent.
Five goals followed in the first five Premier League games of the season, with Reyes scoring and assisting in perhaps my favourite ever game – a 5-3 win over Middlesbrough to equal Nottingham Forest’s record of 42 games unbeaten.
After Reyes’ 60-yard pass had helped Henry give Arsenal the lead, Arsenal found themselves trailing 3-1 after 52 minutes. Just 13 minutes later Reyes rifled a right foot effort into the far post to give Arsenal a 4-3 lead. The stadium erupted. Arsenal fans had a new hero.
Reyes came off the bench to cap a record breaking 3-0 win over Blackburn just days later. Arsenal had gone unbeaten longer than any side in the history of English football.
A goal in the 4-1 defeat of Norwich followed, and Reyes’ incredible form reached new heights in the next game at Craven Cottage. Lucky to be drawing 0-0, Reyes replaced Robert Pires. He had an instant impact, turning defence into attack as Freddie Ljungberg scored on the break. Reyes had a hand in a second goal before completing a 3-0 win.
A small dip followed – to be expected after such a start – but Reyes soon picked up again, assisting Henry three times in games against Charlton and Aston Villa, before a sumptuous flicked through ball right out of Dennis Bergkamp’s repertoire saw Ljungberg net against Panathinaikos.
Ten starts (two sub appearances), seven goals, five assists.