Arsenal are set to announce the signing of Dani Ceballos on loan from Real Madrid after he flew-in to London to undergo his medical and finalise his move, according to Goal.
Ceballos enjoyed a solid year on loan at the Emirates Stadium last season and became an important part of Mikel Arteta’s starting eleven during the second half of the campaign having played a pivotal role in Arsenal’s FA Cup success.
The Spaniard scored the winner during the quarter-final victory over Sheffield United and put-in two superb performances against Manchester City in the semi’s and Chelsea in the final having formed an impressive partnership alongside Granit Xhaka.
After returning to Real Madrid when his loan ended this summer, Ceballos was told he still wasn’t part of Zinedine Zidane’s first team plans and Arteta worked hard to convince the midfielder to turn down other offers in favour of a return to Arsenal.
Goal are one of several media outlets reporting today that the 24-year-old is in London to undergo his medical and put the finishing touches on his move after Arsenal agreed a loan deal with Real Madrid.
The report says Arsenal won’t pay a loan fee to Madrid as they’ll cover all of Ceballos’s wages this time but there is no option or obligation to make the loan move permanent next summer.
Goal claim that the transfer is expected to be formally announced before the weekend so Ceballos is set to become Arsenal’s fifth major signing of the summer following the arrivals of Willian and Gabriel while Cedric Soares and Pablo Mari have made their loan moves permanent.
Ceballos wants regular first team football ahead of the European Championships next summer so we should expect him to be a key player for Arteta once again this coming campaign.
However, the Spaniard is set to miss Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Fulham next weekend as he needs to quarantine for 14 days as per government guidelines but he should be available for the games against West Ham and Liverpool.
Arsenal are likely to bring in another midfielder as the Gunners boss is being tipped to revert to a 4-3-3 formation this season and Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi are expected to leave over the coming weeks.
Thomas Partey and Houssem Aouar are reportedly Arteta’s prime targets so we could see one of them lining-up alongside Xhaka and Ceballos this season if Arsenal manage to get a deal agreed with Atletico Madrid or Lyon.
