Friday, April 26, 2024

Report: Ceballos in talks with Madrid to end Arsenal loan

According to Cadena Ser, Dani Ceballos is in talks with Real Madrid to end his loan at Arsenal and to find another club.

The midfielder is apparently worried about his lack of playing time with the Gunners, especially with Euro 2020 coming up this summer.

He’s keen to make the Spain squad, but without regular football his chances of doing that are diminished.

The 23 year old hasn’t played for us since pulling a hamstring against Vitoria on November 6th, and has only just returned to full fitness. It seems a bit premature to seek pastures new after a relative serious injury, but he is reportedly keen to find a new club before the end of the transfer window.

Speculation was raised after the 2-2 draw with Chelsea when he replied to Hector Bellerin on Instagram to say he’d miss his left-footed goals, and wished his compatriot all the best for the future.

It might suggest that there’s a player coming in, because Arsenal don’t have a great deal of depth in the centre of midfield, but who that might be – if that even is the case – remains to be seen.

If Ceballos does go, it’ll be another La Liga loan which really didn’t work out, although he did do more than Denis Suarez by having one good game for us in the early season win over Burnley.

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Sandy Domenique

I think I speak for everyone when I say ‘meh’.

HelderHughes

Imagine going back to Real Madrid and saying “Yeah, I couldn’t quite dislodge a 20 year old French lad, a player who told his own fans to fuck off, a DM who was playing as a number 10 or Joe Willock.”

Cmdn

Nothing to do with manager right. Arteta will die on his Ozil hill, as the fanboys here. You are quoting one of the worst attacking midfield in entire league. The midfield is dead and you say like its working amazingly well. This midfield has been figured out by Sheffield, Chelsea (early) and Palace. More to come. Ceballos had more impact than Ozil this season. Burnley, Spurs is enough for that.

HelderHughes

Perhaps. I didn’t actually mention Ozil. Certain fans just have to bring him into everything though. I’d actually like to see him stay and perhaps Arteta could get something more out of him.

My point is he’ll probably feel a little pathetic heading back to the biggest club in the world without managing to get enough game time at a club with a significantly weaker midfield.

loose_cannon

Obviously he’s been injured while a lot of changes have happened. I doubt even he’d expect to play over Willock with one functioning hamstring!

Mintoes

He’s been injured and before that hardly expect him to thrive in emery’s set up. I say keep him thru the end of the season and play him instead of waste of space Ozil the ghost. Would be good to have 11 starting players for a change instead of 10 when the butterfly “plays”.

Alex

Have you read what Lampard said during his press conf after the game? Do it.

Eric Blair

But now he’s fit and doesn’t fancy his ability to get into this side? Perhaps Arteta doesn’t rate him as much as Emery, or perhaps there’s little chance of a permanent deal and we’re thinking long-term (more game time for Willock and Guendouzi).

Alex

And how much better we are now under Arteta with this useless guy as a 10.

Xanat

Your comment is great – made my day 🙂
But I think reality is that only the player who told his own fans to fuck off but apologised and wanted out but new coach made him change his mind and started to play actually quite good football is the reason why Ceballos is on the bench at the very right moment. 🙂

Snagger

He has played better and maybe Arteta has told him rather than going to Hertha play well and you are in the shop window andmight get a higher profile team with better wages in the summer. Ps If you put the word “sorry” in a sentence it doesn’t make it an apology for example Xhaka is average and I’m sorry he is average. See not an apology

Craig Hale

Fuck…. When you put it like that does this guy even play football?

Ordnance Dave

A don’t forget an over paid invisible cloak wearing German

Kostas

I think Arteta will need a player like Ceballos more than a player like Ozil.

Viva la Prof

Well he was no Yossi Benayoun was he?

GraeB

More Kim Kallstrom

Pat Rice and Beans

Without a crucial PK in the FA Cup ofc.

KongoKim

U mean FA Cup-Winning Semifinal-Penalty scoring Kim Källström?

Dave

Kim “The Legend” Kallstrom

Thierry Walcott

Kim Kallstrom did more for Arsenal than Ceballos has tbh…

Kartik Iyer

Yeah man! Yossi benayoun was a really good one.

Dave

Yossi Benaygoon

Geefive

Loved Yossi. Best. Loan. Ever. (Well, except for the Return of Henry)

Killak

Weird!

Amusa

The last line, ouch!
Was at the Emirates, saw him live for Burnley and thought he’ll be something special. Still hoping he can be given some playing time under Arteta.
We dont have enough players that can dribble and break the lines and he’s got some bite to him too.

Whamio

I rate Ceballos over Guendouzi…for me Ceba is like a mix of Xhaka & Guendozi…bit of an all rounder

Dave

Sorry but the guy’s got no balls. As per Arteta’s quotes he was told the required level of commitment and fitness and he turned and ran.

It’s bound to happen – with the new philosophy, some will want to stay and fight but won’t have the capability to succeed (Mustafi), some will stay and fight and succeed, and some will just not want to buy in to the new philosophy and will be out the door. Unfortately Danny falls into the latter.

tanned arse

Definitely seems like a wierd one to me. There’s already been a significant drop off after the first 3 games in terms of how well we progress the ball. The pace has gone and so has the ball security. With a coach who gives clear instructions and supports his technical players with a game geared towards their strengths, I think he’d be far more effective than 2 particular players in this current starting eleven. We may look slightly different in practice but I think it takes us closer to arteta’s ‘ideal’

Pakgooner

Injuries in a tough league like the PL are inevitable, as can be seen with some of our squad players still out.
Nevertheless a great player, good attitude and still young.. hope he does well wherever he goes. Loans don’t always turn out like Tielemans at Leicester, but this one has been one of our better ones

OdalGooner

What is this? A grown up, balanced – and positive – post!? We have to ask you to leave, sir. This audience might not be comfortable with objectivity and decent manners. Also who the hell downvotes this!?

Berlingoon

I downvoted this for the ”good attitude”: Zidane thinks obviously different and Arteta’s comments about his physical condition seem to raise at least some questions in that regard. Also the fact that he’d like to cut short his loan deal because he doesn’t play at the moment instead of fighting for a place.

Public Elneny

Also his past social media posts in support of Gen Franco’s reign, bombing stands full of Catalan nationalists, sexist posts aimed at Iker Casillas’ wife and several young teenage girls etc

Thought he was a wrongun when he joined, but was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on the basis he was young when he was posting those things. Fair enough he hasn’t given any indication he’s still an alt-right edgelord, but turns out he’s just a bit feckless

Oregoon

Well he came, played a little, got injured, and now wants to leave. Obviously doesn’t care to make an impression here at Arsenal, so let him go back to a league where he might be more physically suited. Let’s try bringing in one of the younger South American players instead.

Dave

One of our better ones!?!?!?

He’s had one good game. And I’m pretty sure although some of the figures bandied about were well off the mark we still payed a pretty penny for him.

I’d give the loan a 3/10 at most.

SmitsMckey

“And we can be heroes.. just for one day.”

Ben

I feel this is a bit of a missed opportunity. For instance usually starts for good Spain team and I was keen to see what he may do under Arteta and i’m sure was/is lined up to start against Bournemouth.

Cliff Bastin

Great close control but I’d imagine Arteta has to look at what’s good for the long term and play people who are definitely staying next season.

Atom

Not sure it’s that as it was unfortunate timing on Dani’s part to be injured when Arteta came and now to be competing with Xhaka who is arguably playing his best football in an Arsenal shirt. There’s going to be a lot of squad turnover this summer which means at least a few of our current starters are likely to be squad players or gone by next season

Whamio

Have Ceba & Torreira ever played together? I think Ceba could give Ozil a run for his money…for example against Chelsea if he had started…has a bit of a work rate in him

Alex

I agree, against Chelsea at home we were leading 1-0. Özil left, we lost 1-2! For the tuesday game, have you read what Lampard said after the game?

Atom

@alex. I think he was more complaining that he had worked on tactics (Ozil drifting wide vs Arsenal playing narrow) and that his team didn’t adjust to Arsenal going down to 10. Even Ozil fans have to admit he has contributed very little for awhile now as his expected assists are extremely low which indicates the chances he’s creating aren’t high quality. We’re now reduced to talking about “pre- assists” which is a fairly ridiculous idea. If Ozil passes it outside our own box to Pepe who runs the whole field and crosses to Auba for a goal, while Ozil… Read more »

Thorough

I’ll actually be very dissapointed if Arteta is ignoring Ceballos because of some ethnic differences and stuffs he said when he was younger, rather than his talent. This is The Arsenal, players should be judged on merit and not on some people’s whim ffs

NorthernGooner

What on earth are you on about???

Usmanov

Is Arteta Catalan?

Tasmanian God

Basque

Thorough

Don’t know if he’s Catalan and didn’t bother to check. But Arteta’s disciple, Guardiola, is a Barca legend. It’s just an insinuation and I’m hoping it’s not true.

ClockEndRider

Not Very Thorough, then…

NorthernGooner

It’s not an insinuation, it’s a smear and it’s based on no evidence whatsoever, you should be ashamed of yourself.

I’m not in the business of giving advice but i’d recommend you to read a book, or six.

Reality check

Not sure he should be judged for what he said as a teenager. We’ve all believed and said some stupid things as teengers that we may not be proud of. He’s clearly a very passionate guy, we’ve seen that in the short time he’s been on the pitch. As far as his talent goes, he’s baller and a very good one at that. If not for that injury, I am sure he would’ve played a lot more. I really wanted him to do well with us and he wanted to stay as well at one point but It just wasn’t… Read more »

Thorough

Exactly! There’s a reason for the phrase ‘juvenile delinquency’. I’ll be the happiest if this is the stage Edu or other superiors step in and say ‘Coach, if he’s good enough let him have the chance to prove himself’. We can’t afford to lose a midfielder at this particular point in time when it’s obvious 5th is achievable and in Man city gets banned that becomes a UCL spot.
Again, I’ll be very happy to know that the conspiracy theory is false.

OdalGooner

And, by a show of hands, who here hasn’t had a burning desire to bomb the sh*t out of Barcelona FC more than once in the last 20 years. My distaste for that club is palpable.

Eric Blair

Sure, we’ve all done and said stupid things as teenagers (although that is a particularly stupid thing to put on public record), but perhaps that points to his personality and he’s not fitting in very well under the new management?

Magic City Gooner

Well, that would be a stupid thing to do, now wouldn’t it?

Paul Roberts

After his first performance I thought he was our on-loan saviour. Now I think Arteta and the youngsters are. COYG!

Santori

Too many people like to delude themselves.

They willed themselves into believing he is the new “Santi”.

He’s nothing like him much as Torreira isn’t two footed either and only similarity is height.

Ceballos if anything is closer to Ramsey but we already have the emerging Smith-Rowe and Ozil in that position.

We really needed a more experienced head to rotate with Granit and Torreira, leave the very promising Guendouzi higher up in as surrogate alternative to Ozil who is a 60minute player at best.

bendtnerschristmastree

he really got injured at the worst time possible. now we’re entering february with a new manager and I really don’t see any point in using him as anything but a squad player now, since he wont be here in august

Santori

Well, if he can’t find a solution and we don’t bother bringing anyone in from market, Arteta will likely explore his use in a deeper role since we will need rotation for Granit-Torreira.

Personally I feel Ceballos is better higher up as alternative to Ozil.

He’s played next to both Granit and Torreira before with marginal effect but that was before Arteta.

Alex

Özil has played next to both Granit and Torreira with great effect and it was with Arteta.

Santori

As mentioned before, his presence with us isn’t inked in stone. At best it was a lukewarm attempt last to replace Ramsey if but temporary stop gap. It did not address any midfield depth issues and along with Cback neglect came back to haunt emery courtesy of Sanlehi’s brilliant plan. And again I’d reiterate, we will do ourselves a massive favour bringing in a midfielder this January. With Smith-Rowe out on loan, should Ceballos leave, we should push Guendouzi into a role higher up in midfield in lieu of Ozil who is a 60 minute player at best. It will… Read more »

meletios

Not a sensible post.

meletios

(must add)…for me

Ordnance Dave

You know what Santori, I actually agree with you there. Not on the players you think we should buy, but the last sentence is correct, we DO need a better DOF.

Thierry Walcott

You maybe have a little too much time on your hands, huh?

Benriz

Agree with you on Emre Can

Rubic

Remember – Arteta has already stated that Ceballos is not a no#10. “I know him really well from Spain, I watched him many, many times. He’s a player who can fit our style and now he needs to make the step forward and make things difficult for me, for my selection.” “I like him more when he’s close to the box rather than coming deep to receive the ball,” explained Arteta. “Defensively he can play in a two, rather than as a number 10. I don’t really see him as an isolated number 10 playing with two holding midfielder. I… Read more »

meletios

A sensible post.

MeSoHornsey

For those who don’t know, a few years back, Dani Ceballos tweeted that a bomb should be dropped on Basques and Catalans after Bilbao and Barca fans booed the national anthem. At the time, seperatist and nationalist tensions were very, very high.

Arteta is Basque so I suppose the equivalent in the UK would be a very nationalistic young man from England spouting anti-Irish racism then suddenly finding himself with an Irish boss. A bit awkward. I personally don’t think Arteta gives a shit, much more likely Ceballos is the one with the problem if there is one.

NorthernGooner

Jesus H Christ! not this tripe again!……

There has been and currently there are many Basque and Catalan footballers playing in Madrid.

Fact is, Ceballos may be very talented but has not been able to convert that talent into actual game time, neither at his parent club nor at ours, and that is that.

Let’s not over elaborate things when there is no need nor evidence, was Denis Suarez too Galician for Emery?

I really despair.

loose_cannon

A big shame if he does go, but just goes to show how tricky loan signings can be. He’s clearly got a lot of talent and I can see him being a top player, but maybe it’s just the wrong club wrong time.

Kabir

This seems pretty redundant. He wants to leave as if the club didn’t let him play and benched him just for fun

BrazilianGooner

I would be really sad if he does leave. I think he’s a great young talent and I think Arteta could do wonders with him. I really think he would slot well in the #10 role and give Ozil a break when he’s having a bad spell. Not sure why Arteta doesn’t see him as a #10 though

WengersNoseHair

Not sure why this is thumbed down, Ceballos consistently works harder, and it’s virtually impossible for him to contribute less goals and assists than Ozil, so why shouldn’t he challenge for Ozil’s position? We can play a 4-3-3 with Ceballos, too.

Alex

Özil is by far our best creator. Against Watford, his pre-assist made Auba’s goal and it is written nowhere. But Mustafi gets an assist for Martinelli’s goal on tuesday.

Ash

Arteta is following Wenger philosophy
No loan without buy options. We don’t exist to improve players for anyone else, and not even get a transfer fee

Man Manny

Maybe Bielsa is also following the same philosophy.
We shouldn’t moan then when Nketiah and others warm benches at Leeds, Nurnberg, etc.
After all, there is no buy option iin any of them also.

Steve Morpurgo

As far as I’m concerned, he can go….

The Spoon

He has one of the thing we are missing, creativity. However, Arteta is trying to sure us up at the other end first. Lot of games Coming up with Europe returning etc. Expect him to start Monday.

Billy Bob

Crumbs, what does that say about his character? Is he arrogant/entitled? Is he a weak minded quitter? Is he lacking in confidence? He has been out injured, now getting his fitness sorted but rather than fight for a place in the squad he wants out!!!

Lee Carphone Warehouse

What is it with our fetish for loaning midfielders?

surely next time we should think about internal promotion from the academy instead of splurging on injury prone once-in-a-while’s

Ashburton Red

He was literally a world beater against Burnley!

Rich

Not ideal if we can’t score a replacement.

But you can’t fault his desire to play football.

Kostas

Ceballos>Ozil

The_Golden_Wrigglesworth

Based on what? When Ozil was the same age as Ceballos (23), he was starting regularly for Real Madrid, not agitating for a loan move because he was unwilling to fight for a place in the first XI. In fact, in the season he turned 23 (2011/12), Ozil produced more assists in La Liga play alone than Ceballos has managed so far in his entire career across all competitions: 19A in 36 Apps (2560 mins, 1A every 134.7 mins) vs 13A in 182 Apps (11207 mins, 1A every 862 mins). Since the beginning of the 2018/19 season (a period when… Read more »

Kostas

Based on future potential and how Arteta plays.
Ozil is not so good at pressing nor high tempo game.
Of course Ozil had a great career but NOW I would prefer to buy Ceballos and send back Ozil to Real.

Kostas

Why do you compare Ceballos at the age of 23 with Ozil and Ransey at the age of 27 versus Ceballos at 23?

The_Golden_Wrigglesworth

Fair point, Kostas. Actually, I agree that Ceballos seems to be better suited to the pressing aspects and physical demands of Arteta’s style (although Arteta is at least getting Ozil to improve in this respect). Actually, the one area where Ceballos surpasses Ozil is in his defensive actions stats. That said, if Arteta doesn’t see Ceballos as a no. 10, then where does he fit in? It’s difficult to see him displacing either Xhaka or Torreira at CM or getting much game time at LW/LAM, as long as Martinelli is in such good form while deputizing for Auba (especially with… Read more »

Ealing

The past

Richie

If Ceballos leaves, we should recall Mkhitarian from his loan just to boost the squad numbers. Arteta may get a lot more out of him than Emery could.

Benriz

I can see Mikhi doing well under Mikel tbh. Worth a shot?

Owen Wilson

Dont understand our selection policy wit him. Ozil as 0 goals and 1 assist all year and our whole midfield as no productivity. Ceballos is a fairly regular starter for Spain and played over 30 games last year for Real Madrid.

There seems to be a real disconnect at the club with players recruited and the coaches who select the team .

hustle6

if you happen to be one of the several people who have taken the piss out of my Ceballos #8 shirt at the stadium. Yeah you win looool.

Mark

It’s getting late in the window and starting to worry that we may not do much business (on either end) and will be stuck with Mustafi playing so much. At this point we have 12 draws and are sitting on just 30 points. Say we managed to get a victory in just half of those draws (and most were against teams we should have won against) we’d be on 42 points and in fourth place so even with the mess of a season it has been are not that far off from realistically being able to compete for the top… Read more »

Mick Malthouse

He’s lightweight.

Merlin’s Panini

I thought he might be too light weight for the Prem and that seems to have played out. Will be remembered as more of a Denis Suarez than a Yossi Benayoun which is a shame because he is talented. If this is true it seems he’s just not up for a fight ahead of the Euros, which means no great loss. If he can’t displace the midfielders we have now then that speaks volumes.

Torterrier

I presume Mikel Arteta doesn’t want to work with someone that would like to kill Basques, and Catalans.

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