Arsenal have confirmed on Arsenal.com that Dani Ceballos has rejoined the club on a season long loan deal from Real Madrid.
The 24-year-old spent last season on loan at the Emirates Stadium and after an inconsistent start to life in north London, the midfielder became an integral part of Mikel Arteta’s side during the second half of the campaign.
Ceballos formed an impressive partnership alongside Granit Xhaka in the middle of the park and played a key role in helping Arsenal win their 14th FA Cup with excellent performances against Sheffield United, Man City and Chelsea.
The Spanish international returned to Madrid this summer but with a regular start spot in Zinedine Zidane’s side looking unlikely, Ceballos decided another loan move away from the Bernabeu was the best decision.
He had other offers to remain in La Liga but Arteta convinced Ceballos to return to Arsenal and the midfielder reportedly flew-in to North London on Thursday to undergo his medical and put the finishing touches on his move.
The formalities were swiftly completed and Arsenal confirmed on their official website on Friday night that Ceballos has now completed his move to the Emirates and has rejoined the club on another season-long loan from Madrid.
After sealing his move, Ceballos told Arsenal.com that he’s pleased to be back at Arsenal and revealed that he told Arteta before the FA Cup final that he wanted to remain at the club:
“I’m very pleased to be back with Arsenal – I’m very happy to have come back to a club where I feel important,”
“It’s true that I had other options, such as staying at Real Madrid and going back to the Spanish league, where there were teams interested in me.
“I spoke to the coach last year, before the [Emirates FA Cup] final, and told him that I wanted to stay at Arsenal and win titles. I’d been really happy with what Mikel had built at the club since he came in. I had a great time at this club last season and there was never any doubt in my mind that I wanted to come back.”
The Spaniard will want regular first team football ahead of next summers European Championships so I expect Ceballos will continue to be an important part of Arteta’s team this coming campaign.
However, he’s not expected to be available for Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Fulham at Craven Cottage next weekend as he’ll need to quarantine for 14-days due to government guidelines.
Ceballos becomes Arsenal’s fifth major signing of what’s been a busy summer transfer window as Arteta continues to overhaul the squad he inherited from former boss Unai Emery.
Willian has arrived on a free transfer while Arsenal snapped-up highly-rated centre-back Gabriel from Lille. Cedric Soares and Pablo Mari have also made their loan moves permanent so Arteta is quietly reshaping his squad this summer.
