Why Arsenal must sign Dani Ceballos permanently from Real Madrid

According to the Athletic, Arsenal have to fork out £36million to sign Dani Ceballos permanently from Real Madrid in the summer.

Dani Ceballos, 23, has made 14 Premier League appearances for the Gunners since he joined on a season-long loan in July. He made an impressive start to life in North London under the management of Unai Emery, putting in a man-of-the-match display in his first home game against Burnley in August. And that fantastic run of form saw him get recalled to the Spain side.

However, the Spaniard was struck down with a hamstring injury during the clash at Vitoria Guimares in the Europa League in November. Following his spell on the sidelines, Ceballos struggled to break into the starting XI. In fact, he didn’t actually play for Arsenal until Mikel Arteta gave him a chance on January 27.

The report adds Ceballos’ stand-out display during Arsenal’s January training camp in Dubai saw him return to the fold. Considering the midfielder’s recent upturn in form, the Gunners should meet Real Madrid’s £36m valuation of the player in the summer.

Arsenal failed to sign a replacement for Aaron Ramsey, who had left the club for Juventus on a free transfer at the end of last season. Ramsey was one of the experienced players for the Gunners, someone who worked tirelessly off the ball, competed till the final whistle of the game and scored important goals to win games single-handedly.

In Ceballos, Arsenal may not have an ideal replacement for the Wales international but the 23-year-old is a quality player of his own, who arrived at the club after helping Spain’s U21s win the European Championships. After exciting Arsenal fans with a pair of assists in his first Premier League start against Burnley, he has only contributed one goal in 23 games across all competitions.

Yet, the eight-cap Spanish international is young and can unlock his true potential under the watchful eyes of Arteta, who has helped young guns such as Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah and Joe Willock improve themselves.

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Apart from Mesut Ozil, Arsenal have been lacked a creative playmaker capable of stitching the team’s game and this has affected them for a number of years. Ceballos has the potential to be that force as he is a player who can play as a No.10 and in central midfield. Such versatility should only help Arteta and his team in the long run.

Verdict

With Arsenal at ninth place in the Premier League, Arteta needs to rebuild his struggling squad in the summer. Ceballos has had a couple of difficult months at the Emirates Stadium but he’s proven himself under Arteta and regained his spot in the starting XI. All in all, the Spaniard has showcased enough quality to suggest he would be a good addition for Arsenal.