Arsenal: Ceballos needs to ‘fight for his place’ says Arteta
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta must want to bring in another midfielder this month if he is prepared to allow Dani Ceballos to cut his loan short, reckons European football expert Gabriele Marcotti. Ceballos reportedly wants to return to Real Madrid midway through his season-long loan at Arsenal to find another club for the remainder of the season. The 23-year-old is keen on play regular football to earn a spot in Spain’s Euro 2020 squad.
“If you’re talking about having a passing midfielder, unless Arteta really dislikes him or he’s not going to be fit, because Ceballos in a pinch can fill in for [Mesut] Ozil and he can certainly fill in in central midfield, where it’s [Matteo] Guendouzi and the obviously [Granit] Xhaka and [Lucas] Torreira.
“So I wonder again if he’s so keen to get him out, could it be because he’s got somebody else to come in?
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“When I joined the club he wasn't here, he was in Madrid because he was doing his rehab - for over a month - in Madrid with the team that owns him.
“And then, when I came here, he was doing his rehab and by the first two or three weeks he was getting back to fitness and I haven't seen much of him because he's only trained with us for a week or 10 days, you know.
“So it's very early to assess what I can or cannot do with him. I heard about all those things but I have nothing to comment.
Arsenal transfer news: Dani Ceballos is said to want to cancel his loan deal (Image: GETTY)