Arsenal set to lose key midfielder to Real Madrid
Arsenal may be forced to spend big money on midfield reinforcements this summer. Real Madrid have harmed the Gunners by deciding to keep Dani Ceballos.
Dani Ceballos played a key part in Arsenal’s run to the FA Cup title this season but Mikel Arteta has failed in his attempts to keep him in North London. Instead, Real Madrid have dealt the Gunners a stiff blow by deciding to keep Ceballos in Spain next year.
According to AS, the higher-ups at Real Madrid have never had any doubts about Ceballos’ ability to help their first team in time. Zinedine Zidane was the one person who wasn’t overly convinced about the Spaniard’s abilities. Per reports, Ceballos’ quality play for Arsenal last season has won the Real Madrid manager over.
In other summers, the Spanish giants might still have chosen to plunge into the transfer market for a world-class midfielder to boost their chances of achieving Champions League glory. The current global pandemic has forced the club to operate more conservatively this year. That’s one reason why Zidane is more apt to trust a player like Ceballos to give his club a meaningful boost.
Instead, Arsenal will be the club that’s forced to spend money on midfield reinforcements this summer. Arteta’s preference was to keep Ceballos for the long-term, but it’s unclear whether or not he really believed he could become the star required to knit his midfield together. The point is moot now that Real Madrid have opted to grant Ceballos the opportunity he’s dreamed off for years.
The real question Arsenal must now answer is just how expensive replacing Ceballos in their starting XI will be. The club are fully committed to giving Pierre-Emerick Aubemyang the raise he requires to stay in North London. Arteta is willing to sell off a handful of first-team stars this summer to generate funds, but shopping for a new midfield starter wasn’t necessarily on his original to-do list.
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In the end, Ceballos’ current circumstances serve as a cold reminder to just how dangerous relying on a loan player can be. He was terrific for Arsenal last year, but now he’s left the Gunners in the lurch.