Arsenal have confirmed that Jose Antonio Reyes has joined Atletico Madrid for an undisclosed fee. Reyes, who is set to sign a four-year deal, will have a medical on Tuesday before being officially unveiled. Atletico were seen as favourites to sign the 23-year-old for a reported £6m after Real Madrid apparently refused to offer more than £4m. Reyes was on loan with Real last season and scored the vital goals against Mallorca to help the side to La Liga.An Arsenal statement said: "Everyone at Arsenal thanks Jose Antonio for his contribution to the club and wishes him the best of luck for the future." The winger was close to joining Atletico last summer, signing a pre-contract deal, before opting to join city rivals.
Lyon also made a bid for Reyes, who cost Arsenal £10.5m when he arrived from Sevilla four years ago, but they all but admitted defeat after the player said he wanted to remain in Spain.
Reyes, who has won 21 caps for Spain, made a total of 110 appearances for the Gunners and scored 23 goals. He made 30 appearances with Real, mostly as a substitute, and scored six league goals.
He's a lucky boy. Luckily for him, he managed to score 2 goals in the final match of La Liga last season, which is enough to impress other clubs to sign him.