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Dani Ceballos makes Arsenal promise as he sends clear message to Real Madrid boss Zidane
Arsenal star Dani Ceballos has made a promise to the Gunners as he sends a clear message to Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.
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Arsenal star Dani Ceballos has insisted that the "best" is yet to come from him as he returns to training with the Gunners ahead of the Premier League restarting. Ceballos is currently on a season-long loan at the north London club from parent club Real Madrid, but the 23-year-old hasn't had the best campaign at the Emirates.
The Spain international has only featured in 24 games for Arsenal this season, with 11 of those appearances coming off the bench.
His inclusion into the squad wasn't helped when he suffered a hamstring injury against Vitoria in the Europa League in November.
The injury meant he had to watch on from the sidelines for nearly three months before coming on as a substitute against Bournemouth in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the end of January.
However, Ceballos has now recovered and is looking forward to the future.
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"The best Dani Ceballos is yet to come," he told Spanish broadcaster TVE.
"To settle into a team, to feel important, to feel like a leader, which is what I really like."
Clubs are back in training ahead of next month's possible return of the Premier League and Ceballos believes it could be less than four weeks away.
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"We passed the [coronavirus] test 48 hours ago and the truth is that the whole team tested negative," he said.
"We're going to start a week behind what's being talked about in Spain, which is June 12, and we're going to start the league on June 20."
Ceballos has previously spoken about his concerns about not getting enough minutes this season ahead of Euro 2020.
However, with the tournament delayed to 2021, the midfielder is still determined to be included in Luis Enrique's Spain squad.
Ceballos has previously admitted he considered leaving Arsenal in the January window but changed his mind after Mikel Arteta gave him more opportunities to play.
However, Ceballos is expected to return to Real when his loan deal ends with the Gunners.
Ceballos made the switch to the Bernabeu from Real Betis in 2017 for a reported fee of £15million (€17m).
And while the youngster has struggled to cement a regular place in the first-team with Zinedine Zidane in charge, the Spaniard still believes he can be a success at the club in the future.
"I'm a Real Madrid player," Ceballos said. "And any player in the world would like to play for Real Madrid.
"I have a contract with them for three more years and it is the perfect team to succeed."