(arsenal.com)
By Chris Harris

Jose Antonio Reyes may still be feeling his way through the maze of the English language, but there's no doubt that he's completely fluent on the pitch.

The Spanish forward produced a dazzling display against Birmingham on Sunday and could easily have left Highbury with the match ball if Maik Taylor's goalkeeping had not bordered on the heroic.

Robin van Persie's deflected winner ensured a happy ending for Arsenal and Reyes is understandably pleased with his own contribution in the absence of injured captain Thierry Henry.

"I feel very well," he told Arsenal.com. "I have now played a number of games in a row, I'm having a good time and I'm happy with my form. I really cannot complain with the season I have had so far.

"My personal role does not change when Thierry is not there, although it has to be said that when Thierry is playing he is a focal point.

"The team is managing to adapt without him but Thierry is a very important player for us and hopefully he will return in a couple of weeks."

Off the pitch, Reyes is increasingly happy. He is taking English lessons but, importantly, does not believe that his grasp of the language is hampering his progress on the field of play.

"It is going quite well and every day I am improving a little," he said. "I am realising that on the pitch I understand a lot more and with time everything will be ok.

"But on the pitch I believe there is only one language and that is football. The language is the ball and what you do with it. There is no need to speak the language fluently for people to understand you."

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