Dani Ceballos to use Arsenal as springboard for bigger things

Dani Ceballos reportedly told Real Madrid to ensure any deal that took him to Arsenal for the season did not give the Gunners an option to make the transfer permanent.

The 22-year-old midfielder moved to Emirates Stadium on Thursday on a season-long loan deal – the player taking Aaron Ramsey’s No 8 shirt at the club, having explained why he rejected an approach from Tottenham.

“The coach was the turning point in terms of me joining this massive club,” he told the club’s official website.

“He’s a Spanish coach and he knows me from my time at other clubs. I’m really happy to be able to help Arsenal achieve our objectives.

“I knew I had the confidence of the coach, which was very important for me from the start.”

And while the signing is sure to excite Arsenal fans – the player having underlined his credentials by helping Spain to glory at the European U21 Championships this summer – Ceballos is adamant he can still make the grade at parent club Real Madrid.

According to AS, Ceballos was adamant that the only way he would leave the Bernabeu on loan this summer was if any deal allowed him to return to his parent club at the end of the deal. And for that reason, the Madrid-paper claims Ceballos asked for the option-to-buy clause to be omitted from the arrangement.

Last season the player made 23 LaLiga appearances for Madrid, scoring three times, but, having held talks with manager Zinedine Zidane, it was felt he would benefit from a season’s loan in the Premier League and the chance to become a regular starter under Unai Emery at Arsenal.

As such, AS believes Ceballos wants to use his time in north London to further his game and underline to Zidane that he is capable of having a long and successful career at the Bernabeu.

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