After two years on loan from Real Madrid, Dani Ceballos has confirmed that he is leaving Arsenal.
Lured to England by Unai Emery, he initially struggled to win over Mikel Arteta but eventually became an important cog in the midfield during the second half of the 2019/20 season.
In total, the Spaniard played 77 games for the Gunners, making five assists and scoring two goals, including a last-gasp quarter-final winner against Sheffield United on our way to FA Cup success. There was also *that* game against Burnley when we thought we’d signed Maradona combined with Patrick Vieira.
In the end, Ceballos’ time as a Gunner, thanks to a few iffy recent performances, petered out a bit and it never looked particularly likely that we’d pursue a permanent deal.
The 24-year-old had hoped another year in London would help him secure a place in Spain’s squad for the European Championships, but that didn’t happen. On the plus side, when he returns to the Bernabeu, he’ll find that none of his Real teammates made Luis Enrique’s shortlist either.
We wish Dani (and his coterie of haircuts) all the best for the future.
Here’s his rather lovely parting message in full…
Thanks @Arsenal and thanks to all Gunners.🙌🏻
For welcoming me with so much love from the very first day I wore this jersey. For letting me experience the feeling of being a Gunner and allowing me to be a part of your family all this time.
A complicated year – for many reasons- has come to its end. Especially for having missed the chance of living home matches in the Emirates with our supporters. Still, I assure you that I will never forget your warmth and support in every moment. I am sure that Arsenal, being a historic and great team, will soon be back on top, winning championships and being a reference as it is and always has been. This club, and especially its supporters, deserve it, and I am confident that they will achieve it.
Thanks to all those people who are part of the team: coaches, kit men, medical staff, communications and marketing team, employees, managers and especially the supporters.
All those persons who so often work quietly giving all they have for this great club.
I want you to know that I have always worked very hard and tried my very best for this crest and this jersey.
I wish you all the best and the success that I’m sure will come.
💪⚽️ Let’s go Gunners! ⚽️💪
GOODBYE. THANKS FOR ALL!
Good riddance to bad rubbish
See yourself out too
Why? Where you off to?
There really is no need for that. I never warmed to him after I found out that he praised Franco, but his role in our FA Cup win and his very warm parting message makes me want to wish him all the best. Hopefully someone will teach him the truth about the Spanish Civil War.
I hadn’t heard about the Franco thing before. Found an article which mentions it and other incidents which (if it’s all to be believed) paints him in a pretty bad light:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sportingnews.com/us/amp/soccer/news/who-is-dani-ceballos-the-real-madrid-target-who-called-for-catalan-dogs-to-be-bombed/mpj914z43z9o1ffb8q832q2e5
This is horrible. Hadn’t seen it before. Thanks for the link. Anyway, he’s gone. Let’s turn the page and get someone better.
Yes let’s draw a line under it and call it a small part of the bad transitional years.
We already have someone better. His name is Joseph Willock.
Basil Fawlty “Manuel, they do have rats in Spain or did Franco have them all shot..?!”
Maybe one of his relatives was murdered by a commie
commie ? you mean a christian ? since Jesus lived in a commune,that makes jesus a commie…
It’s so easy to forget we were literally screaming out for his resigning last summer. Obviously it hasn’t been a great season but, bar a few young lads, we’ve been let down all over the park.
I know we have short memories but I think every Arsenal player that pulls the shirt on deserves more respect than that.
Absolutely no one was screaming out for us to resign him.
More it was a cheap option and one less problem.
He was pretty shit most of his 1st season as well so you definitely have a short memory.
https://arseblog.news/2020/08/report-arsenal-to-re-sign-ceballos-on-loan/
Top 3 comments, all with hundreds of up votes:
Amazing news. Hope the deal gets done ASAP, with the option to buy, of course. COYG!
Yahuu! Great news, he’s still so young and seems to be loving it under Arteta.
Get in there!
Loan + option to buy would be fantastic news.
Can I start to believe this will be a good transfer window?
Yeah. No one wanted him at all.
I think they call that clean bowled Johnny 🤓
Mate, the thing I’ve learned from all manner of discourse over the last few years is that you can shove evidence in people’s faces that their opinions are ill-founded and misguided and they’ll just double down and believe whatever they want regardless.
This.
No surprise a few of you deluded lot on here wanted him to stay. I still recall you all singing mustafi s praises saying how great he was under arteta.
Clueless lot with your upvotes.
Probably should have said no one in the real world was bothered let alone screaming for him to resign apart from here in your little bubble of delusion
And there’s the double down, right on cue.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Deluded
You are a prize cxxt
You are a very sad man Kevin still stalking my comments after weeks. And you are allowed to write cunt on here no one will tell your mummy you prize cunt
Not stalking just giving you taste of your own medicine. I simply gave my opinion last week on a post and you were very personal and disrespectful. It’s not nice is it. Hopefully you will learn from it.
Wow you really are sad carrying that with you all week. Youre a very odd person if you are that triggered That’s what I’ve learned. You need your hard drive checking you weirdo. Now go back under your rock
You’ve basically insulted all of us on here, calling us deluded and clueless. If I was on a forum where I thought that about everyone, I wouldn’t waste my time posting on it.
So why don’t you leave us to our silly upvotes and go and write your posts in YouTube comment sections where they belong?
I like to think he’s really pissed off about the 2 upvotes he gets on each comment.
Willock can be a better option in his position. Hope that was the reason they let him go.
Always gave it 100pc so that’s harsh.
Pathetic comment. Do you remember how glad we were to sign him for a second season after a successful first one. Yes it didn’t work out but he still played some decent matches and certainly not our worst player.
He’s a good player and his first season was great . There’s no reason to hate on him, he’s human and he makes mistakes.
No reason to slate him as he wore the badge and had that timely goal in our FA Cup run. But let’s not let the pendulum swing so far back the other way as to actually say he was a good player.
That game was crazy
What game? His Burnley debut? Got us all excited for a while though didn’t it? Shame never really worked out.
Bring in Bissouma and retain Joe Willock. And keep the rest of the midfield as is. Partey-Bissouma will be the default, then either ESR keeps his place at 10, or occasionally a try a midfield 3 with Willock roaming as box-to-box.
Having typed all that I realize Mikel probably doesn’t read Arseblog comments section so it’ll all probably go down the drain anyway.
Thanks Dani. Enjoy your paella and Estrella
Do you think he’s a Paella-and-Estrella kind of fella?
Cheers Dani Onions.
Has my respect for that FA cup winner
Best of luck at Betis 😉
He’d probably walk into Real’s starting 11 given the state of them at the moment. Best of luck Dani
Steady on 😂
Shame his second season wasn’t as positive as his second. I hope he has a decent career
I thought those seasons were pretty much identical in positivity.
all the best Dani
Nice farewell message and we wish you well too, shame things didn’t work out better, but think the FA cup run the first season was the highlight for both Ceballos and Arsenal
off to play for a mid table spanish side, and best of luck to him
A mid-table Spanish side higher in the table than us…
Again, the absolute delusion with some of us. We have been mid table ourselves (if not worse). Why you talking like we’re table toppers or something
he seemed to have flashes of true brilliance at times, but this is the right move for all parties. best of luck dani
Even for Thomas 🙂
Nice message.
After the Burnley debut, I thought we might have the next Cazorla, it turned out he wasn’t even close.
Oh well, that’s how it goes sometimes
Loved his celebration in FA Cup against Chelsea last season.
I think that’s how I will remember him as well! Celebrated like a fan!
Best of luck to him! A loan spell that barely helped paper over some of the cracks. I hope it at least helped us get a clearer picture of what we need (and don’t need) in our next midfield signing.
Shame his second season was so underwhelming. Post lockdown he was genuinely excellent.
I think during the lockdown and after he put in a beast of a shift in training. Couldn’t match up to it this season for whatever reason.
Perhaps the correlation between “training hard” and “performing well” is not that strong, and what happened here is just regression toward the mean. He likely still trained as hard, but just couldn’t regain the form.
I think a major weakness of Arteta is that he relies on the “training hard” metric too much. This is likely why we kept on seeing Willian getting minutes, while Pepe kept on getting benched right after scoring goals.
Congratulations, you just invented a narrative
Well, randomness is a topic covered by many books.
I have no idea what you just said.
Don’t you watch our training ground videos? Reid’s tears it up almost every day in training yet is never chosen. So, no I don’t think your theory holds water
Reiss*
Do you really watch our training ground videos ? I have to be honest, I haven’t watched a single one in my life. Where do you find the time, I find it hard enough organising work/family in order to watch our games, never mind training videos!
Hmm, you could be right there. However, the season has ended and I don’t want to give myself another migraine trying to come up with how Willian got so many appearances.
I know Dani was just another loanee, but he did seem to care about our club at least.
Thanks for the good times and all the best for the future, Dani!
I am glad we didn’t spend 50million on him. The loan transfer was smart.
He is nothing special, not bad but not great.
Was it though? How much worse Joe or AMN could have been there?
We are in a position that developing our own players is a must and loan moves are waste of minutes.
And yes that applies also for MØ
I guess we’ll never know.
However, fact of the matter is that the vast majority of supporters backed his loan signing and extension when it happened. So I guess not many of us thought Willock or AMN could do a better job.
Not a great fit in the end but helped us win a trophy, so not disastrous either. Looking forward to seeing who replaces him.
“I am sure that Arsenal, being a historic and great team, will soon be back on top, winning championships and being a reference as it is and always has been.”
You are right, Ceballos; we cannot afford another season outside the top 6 at the minimum.
We stand the risk of being cut adrift.
Next season is the most crucial in recent memory: it is a make or mar one for us. I hope Arteta, Edu, Ventakesham and the new man are up for the task.
By all means I agree that next season is make or break but haven’t we said these exact words before?
I hope we see some changes in the coaching staff this summer. The only assistant coach who I feel has made a positive impact is Andreas Georgson. To be fair, I’m not quite sure what Cuesta and Molina actually do. Is it just work experience for them?
Props for memorising the coaching staff! I don’t even know what they look like let alone their names!
Maradona combined with Patrick Vieira?
I always thought it was Gilberto with a touch of Santi.
I’d take either combo, though.
Thank you for the theatre and dives
Loved your celebrations
That _is_ a lovely message. There’s a quality player in there who on occasion can see a pass or find a touch that is exquisite. But just not quite often enough! Might still go on to great things. All the best.
Number 8 shirt for Joe Willock?
We already have at least 7 midfield players better than ceballos. Partey, Xhaka, Willock, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Torreira and Guendozi.
With the exception of Partey the rest of those players could easily gone, and all have different attributes. It really depends on what type of player Arteta wants in the midfield, but no sure either Willock or AMN fit his style.
… and amaury bischoff
WINNER!
Torreira and guendouzi…that’s funny…
Peaked on his debut and went downhill ever since. Loans are a waste of playing minutes for the youth and fringe players.
There is something wrong with this fanbase when you’re getting downvotes for speaking straight facts.
Votes on social media are from a global fanbase who think they know it all – not just the Emirates faithful who actually do know.
You’ll get to know the former and the latter. Some are more subtle than others….
Check the dictionary for the difference between “fact” and “opinion”
More than anything I think the league wasn’t suitable for him. Serie A might be a better match for his skillset.
Best of luck Dani and hope you hit better form at your new destination!
He might not have done enough to be worth a permanent signing, but it’s clear that Ceballos deeply cared about the club, more than some of our permanent signings have, and I always loved watching his celebrations even when somebody else scored! People forget that when we were in awful form and had just conceded an equaliser to Sheffield United it was Ceballos who drove through and grabbed a last-minute winner. He lacked a bit of political nuance when he was a teenager and held some extreme opinions, but so did pretty much everybody at one point and it’s not… Read more »
There goes one of the best in the game at pirouetting. He could have reached dizzying heights but alas it wasn’t to be.
Pirouettes? or foolish dives as if thumped by Antony Joshua or shot by sniper. Too much of that by too many players now. Refs and commentators don’t help either.
Cool dude, decent footballer sad that my last memory of him will be tracking back that guy for what seemed like hours. Good luck at rm.
There is talent but the execution is messy. He can play really good at times but other times he can be very very poor and that lead to many bad performances and to this exit.
Maybe he can do better in Spain. He can’t complain about the amount of chances he was given
Dani was never an amazing player. He was just a fill-in. We had some great moments such as the F.A cup, and we had some bad moments(I think you know what I’m talking about). I wish Dani the best and hopefully he can get some playing time at real next season
One more useless shit player gone
Hopefully the start of a major clear out
Amazing how much shit we’ve brought in the last 5 years
Agreed.
Thank God for the Hale End boys – and another shout of gratitude to Bouldy.
Good riddance.
Two down, three to go.
Luiz Out ✅
Ceballos Out ✅
#cedricout 🎳
#willianout 🎳
#xhakaout 🎳
Xhaka aside this is that rare time I find myself agreeing with
Xhaka needs to go, the guy is a busted flush.
Too many people on here have got short memories – they probably forgot all about the Burnley game the day after it was played.
Ok fine Ceballos, Auba is next
Yeah, that’s the way.
Our midfield is finally beginning to create a chance or two, so let’s get rid of our most experienced striker.
Honestly, some of you on here…..
Thank god. We’ve given him playing time when we has torreira and guendouzi who should’ve been used and developed properly. Talking about not using/respecting what you have.
His time may not have fully worked out, but at least he seemed to care, even if it resulted in him cocking up. Fare thee well Dani.
“…I have always worked very hard and tried my very best for this crest”
His “best” was not good enough and his performances in the games that counted were far below his best.
Him leaving is good for the team.
I don’t hate the guy, but I think we should stop
signingacquiring mediocre footballers.All the best Dani. It’s difficult to judge your performance in these exceptional circumstances. A lot of Gunners thought J Willock was crap, until he went to Newcastle and made scoring history. It could be you’re just a good player in a wrong environment or playing in a system that doesn’t suit you. It’s clear you’re very talented. I’ll be rooting for you to succeed wherever you go.
Could never fault his desire, and in some games he was excellent. Sadly, it didn’t work for him but his place in the squad can now be filled by Joe. Still that is one of the best parting messages I’ve seen and he was never even our player, really. Think the club has left its mark on him. Good luck to him in the future.
Be kind to Danny Ceballos please .. thank you for trying and best wishes wherever you go
I mentioned Neves before today’s news. Arsenal would be foolish NOT to jump on this opportunity. 25m plus a make weight IMO. BC that central midfield will still need addition. Xhaka has been instrumental this season but he will leave in a season or so. Partey hopefully will kick on this coming season. Willock we should return to fold being young with plenty of upside. That leaves one more spot. IMO Elneny should be sold for whatever he can raise. he is passing 30 and whilst a decent performer, we need better. Torreira I don’t see the point either. Likely… Read more »
I hope we go in for an experience and proven striker. All sorts of rumours of one season wonders being looked at again. Frankly with Laca likely sold, we need a presence up top who can control and act as an outlet bc Auba is uncompetitive Tyreece JJ I like and he should get a shout IMO (If we should sell Nketiah) but he is still an inexperienced player at this level and would be unfair to rely on him fully. To me we should avoid making the same mistake with Pepe (Took over a season to adjust) and instead… Read more »
For the keeper, I’m not entirely convinced by Matt Ryan. He’s a solid enough player but I worry abut his height. OTOH, if money is tight, he may be again a back up solution. BUT if we were building for the future and bearing in mind Leno is (rightly) at present hesitant to commit, I would be looking seriously at a talented younger keeper to come in. I don’t know why Edu is looking all over the place for Neto or Raya in Championship when Ramsdale is an excellent young keeper at 23yrs with good frame and plenty of practise… Read more »
Another player alternative at AM we should keep track off is Mislav Orsic.
He plays predominantly from left but can go through the middle at 28yrs plenty of experience and may be a step up for him from Zagreb to us where for many others we will be a step down.
Of course he will attract attention from clubs in Europe but should he not be moved on, we should pounce on him.
Fantastic control, eye for goal as mention AM but also opportunity to play Left side with ESR in through the middle.
Likely though I have zero faith in Edu, he won’t be able to manouver as well behind the scenes and may end up spending more on lower quality options that some Arsenal fans will get all excited about but in reality aren’t really that great.