Arsenal have officially confirmed the year-long loan signing of Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid.
Ceballos becomes Arsenal’s second signing of the summer, joining forward Gabriel Martinelli, who made his Gunners switch in early July from Brazilian side Ituano.
The 22-year-old joins having been a reported target for arch-rivals Spurs – with Real Madrid said to have offered the youngster a choice of which side of North London to play his football at next season.
Spaniard Ceballos arrives in the red half, fresh from his Under-21 European Championship victory with his country, scoring twice on his nation’s way to junior continental glory.
The Gunners have announced that he will wear the No8 shirt next season – previously worn by Aaron Ramsey, who has recently moved on to Italian champions Juventus.
If previous reports are to be believed, Arsenal can expect the midfielder to play a central role in the upcoming season, with Unai Emery persuading Ceballos to the Emirates Stadium following the player’s desire to make 40 appearances in the next campaign – which may not have been achieved sitting on the bench at the Bernabeu.
He may well be tasked with upping the creativity levels from his area of the pitch, with other central attacking players such as Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan only gathering a total of 10 assists between them last season – fewer than assist leader Alexandre Lacazette’s haul of 13.
Perhaps more importantly, he fills the void left by Ramsey – albeit temporarily – without Arsenal having to delve into the shallow pockets they have been afforded this summer (with just £40m said to be at their disposal to buy players).
Arsenal relied heavily on Lacazette and his strike partner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last season – contributing to a combined 50 goals alone in the previous campaign.
Adding Ceballos to their attacking ranks could provide another outlet from which to profit from when it comes to scoring goals, and if his national team exploits are anything to go by – in which he notched two goals and assists in the final tournament (and playing a part in eight goals from six appearances during qualifying) – the Gunners could have found a temporary future hero as they search for a way back into the Champions League in 2019/20.
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