Arsenal and Sevilla honoured former player Jose Antonio Reyes ahead of their Emirates Cup clash.
The ex-Spain international passed away in June 2019 and played for both clubs in a successful 19-year career.
Managers Mikel Arteta and Julen Lopetegui exchanged shirts with the player’s name and number on the back, while his father was in attendance.
The Man of the Match award was named in honour of the player, too.
Reyes started at Sevilla, making his debut aged 16, and his exceptional performances earned him a move to north London in 2004.
The deal, which rose to £17million, saw Reyes help Arsenal win the title and complete an unprecedented unbeaten season, earning them the Invincibles tag.
And he later aided the club in their journey to the Champions League final in 2006.
Barcelona beat the Gunners 2-1 in the final despite the forward coming off the bench in the latter stages.
🔟❤9⃣@arsenal 🤝🏽 #SevillaFC
Arteta y Julen.
Por ti, José Antonio Reyes. pic.twitter.com/sY3Mky6r5g— Sevilla Fútbol Club (@SevillaFC) July 30, 2022
Reyes, after a loan to Real Madrid, returned to Spain permanently with Atletico Madrid in 2007.
He then returned to Sevilla in 2012 where he helped his boyhood club win the Europa League three times in a row.
He then had spells with Espanyol, Cordoba, Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard, and Extremadura before his untimely passing, aged 35.
In their first game at the Emirates ahead of the new season, Arsenal also paid tribute former captain and manager Terry Neill, who died at the age of 80 as well as superfan Maria Petri.
📸 Francisco Reyes, José Castro y Tim Lewis (CEO del @arsenal) en la previa del partido. #WeareSevilla #NuncaTeRindas pic.twitter.com/oa3IBA7o9U
— Sevilla Fútbol Club (@SevillaFC) July 30, 2022
Minuto 9 en Londres. Ovación cerrada en tu memoria.
Siempre en nuestro recuerdo, José Antonio Reyes. ❤ pic.twitter.com/LLp8Wzcp7q— Sevilla Fútbol Club (@SevillaFC) July 30, 2022
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘752905198150451’);
fbq(‘track’, “PageView”);
Contact Us For Promotions, Biography Submission, Edit Or Takedown Of An Article.
