Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, would have loved to sign Dani Ceballos on a permanent deal from Real Madrid but says the situation is not in Gunners’ hand.
After returning from injury, Ceballo has displayed impressive performance under Arteta while partnering with Granit Xhaka in midfield. The situation is that Arsenal doesn’t have the option of turning the loan deal into a permanent one after the Los Blancos loaned out the player to the Premier League side.
The Spaniard is therefore expected to return to the Bernabeau at the end of the season. With the stuff he is made of, Zinedine Zidane may not likely sell him out and wants to add him to the growing numbers of young midfielders in the team.
Arteta has, therefore, said that he would love to have the midfielder at the club, adding that he is hoping a deal could be struck with Real Madrid at the end of his loan.
The coach further stated that Arsenal has opened another round of talks with Madrid said he is happy to have him in his squad.
“We are talking to the club,” said Arsenal’s head coach. “We don’t own the player, he’s not in our hands, so the clubs will need to have a communication and see what we can do.”
Ceballos becoming influential at Arsenal
Ceballos is now an integral part of Areta’s starting eleven after battling for his place in the starting XI after Arteta’s arrival in December. His vision play has made him become an increasingly influential player for Arsenal under the Spaniard.
He has made seven starts from in the last eight Premier League games with an encouraging partnership with Xhaka, who also recently returned from the treatment table.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s clash with Leicester City, Arteta said the midfielder is evolving, and he loves how much he likes to play football.
“The passion he puts into every training session, and in every game, you just have to see his celebrations. Whether he’s on the pitch or the bench, the way, he celebrates [shows] how much he puts into it. Again, I’m really happy with him, I think he’s evolving in the right way, and he’s becoming a really important player for us.”
Arsenal open to swap deals
Speaking ahead if the summer transfer window, Arteta said the team would be ‘open’ to potentially swapping players on a bid to land key targets.
With the coronavirus pandemic reducing financial powers of clubs, as Arsenal could end up not playing in the Champions League for another season, Arteta admitted that the transfer funds would be tight.
This has led to speculation that Arteta may want to offer either Alexandre Lacazette or Matteo Guendouzi as a swap for Thomas Partey at Atletico Madrid. The Spanish club had been wanting to sign Lacazette before he opted for Arsenal.
“We have to be open to different situations. I think the market will give us the opportunity to do certain deals like this, but at the moment I cannot comment on any of that,” he said.
