Arsenal star slams Ornstein claims about fight with David Luiz in training

Luiz.Ceballos.Aubameyang.Arsenal.TEAMtalk

Dani Ceballos has hit out at reports that teammate David Luiz hit him during Arsenal training last week.

David Ornstein claimed on The Athletic earlier that Luiz and Ceballos had a bust-up on the training ground last Friday.

The report alleged that Luiz “struck Ceballos on the nose” after a tackle from the Spaniard during a practice match. The reported confrontation led to Ceballos bleeding from the nose after Luiz scratched him.

Ornstein claims that other Arsenal players had to separate the pair to “diffuse” the tensions. Ceballos and Luiz were then sent home and made their apologies upon returning on Tuesday.

The pair settled their differences in front of the rest of the squad. Then, they took part in more productive training sessions.

However, Ceballos has now denied that the incident took place at all. Quoting Ornstein’s tweet linking to the article, he simply wrote in capital letters: “Fake”.

Ornstein also suggested that “competitiveness” is “ultimately what [manager Mikel] Arteta wants”. His tweet also said they would “hope fighting spirit is channeled positively”.


Subscribe for free to TEAMtalk’s daily newsletter…


Arsenal’s next game sees them take on Leeds United – whom they beat in the FA Cup last season – on Sunday. But despite winning the most recent meeting between the two sides, they have been warned not to expect an easy game.

If such an incident did take place, it would be an unwelcome distraction for their preparation for the game. However, it appears as if all remains well in the Arsenal camp.

Ceballos has made seven appearances in the Premier League for Arsenal this season so far. Luiz, on the other hand, has played five times in the competition.

The Gunners are currently in 11th place after winning and losing an equal amount of their opening eight games.

 

Arteta makes honest Ozil admission

One of the major talking points of Arsenal’s season so far has been the decision to leave Mesut Ozil out of their squad lists for the Premier League and Europa League.

Arteta has previously admitted that he tried for a different outcome. Now, the Gunners boss has elaborated on his feelings about not having Ozil available.

“I’m hurt because I don’t like any player in my squad not to have the possibility to participate or to compete,” he told beIN Sports. “For me it is really sad because I don’t think anybody deserves that.

“With Mesut at the moment, with the squad list, obviously he cannot be involved. I try to be as clear as possible with him and with the fans and all the media because they deserve to know the reasons why and some people will understand and other people won’t understand it.”

Read more…