Baptista boosted by goals

Julio Baptista says his confidence was boosted by his four goals against Liverpool.

Baptista made the move to the Premiership last summer in a one-year loan deal which saw Jose Antonio Reyes go the other way to Real Madrid.

The Brazilian has become a regular in the Carling Cup side and has played in 18 games in total, although the majority of his appearances have come from the bench.

He made his mark at Anfield last month as he netted four times in the Carling Cup quarter-final and the 25-year-old believes it was a turning point for him.

"That was a very significant, very important moment for me," Baptista told The Guardian.

"You hardly ever see players scoring four goals. It really helped my confidence. If you come here and don't show the fans that you are as good as you were there, the people won't respect you.

"You need to start doing the business and so, in terms of earning respect, those four goals for me were crucial.

"I'm playing well again. And look, I haven't been playing that much at all. This is the stage in the season when things get important. And now the going gets serious I am hitting my best form."

Baptista is set to make his first cup final appearance in Europe when Arsenal meet Chelsea in the Carling Cup decider at The Millennium Stadium on Sunday and he is approaching the game with a positive outlook.

"If you have gone this far already in the competition you have got to have the self-confidence and belief to just go for it," he added.