The sad case of Jose Antonio Reyes

Jose Antonio Reyes has said, since his transfer from Real Madrid (not wanted really by new coach Schuster) and not wanting to return to London with Arsenal, that with his move across town to Atletico,

• “I had hoped to play more, I am not going to lie to you, but these are decisions for the coach. We’ve had two games nothing else, there are many more to go and I wait for the chance to play in the starting XI. When a player joins a new team, he always hopes to be a starter. It is important to recognize that there are very many players of great quality in my position and for that reason I cannot complain.”

How sad has the career of Jose Antonio Reyes become? First choice winger for Arsenal, to super-sub at Madrid, and mattress-maker second or third choice. Is this another in a long line of arrogant attackers that have been put down by their clubs or by their own arrogance? : Cassano, Adriano, Reyes, etc.

He could have stayed the course and adapted like Cesc Fabregas did in London. He had the winger’s slot vacated by Robert Pires, and yet despite winning the league almost single-handedly for Capello’s Madrid, he was unwanted in a return to the flash and circumstance of the new Real. So, he moves to the pragmatic side of Aguirre? It’s his own fault, or at least his representation.