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Ceballos: Thoughts on his Disappointing Loan Spell
Dani Ceballos arrived on loan from Real Madrid this summer and it came with some good buzz and fanfare. Arsenal fans were aware of his technical abilities and saw him excel in his national colors in the the Under-21s European Championships, and he looked like a decent replacement for Aaron Ramsey. The fans will always love Rambo for all he did for the club in his distinguished years of service, and in Ceballos, he offered the fans a chance to get a glimpse of his ability while donning the favored Number 8 jersey.
Ceballos had a decent debut on the opening fixture against Newcastle, showing off his silky passing skills and technical ability on the ball. However, his home debut against Burnley, which turned out to be his finest performance in Arsenal colors, was exemplary, as he covered every blade of grass for his new side, while creating two assists to his teammates as the Gunners ran out as 2-1 winners. Arsenal fans expected more from Ceballos but for some reason, Unai Emery did not deem it fit to start with the Spaniard, preferring his favored son, Matteo Guendouzi, alongside the then club captain, Granit Xhaka, in central midfield.
Ceballos struggled to gain any consistent form and had a few fitness issues but he managed to put the icing on the cake when Arsenal thumped Standard Liege in the Europa League group stage fixture. After a couple of international fixtures with Spain, Ceballos got a runout on the side playing all 90 minutes in the disappointing draws with Crystal Palace and Wolves, before suffering a hamstring injury in the Europa League game against Victoria Guimaraes in early November. This turned out to be Ceballos’ last appearance for the club, before he gained full fitness in late December 2019.
Early in the month, I published an article on the players with expiring contracts, providing feedback on whether the club should sell, renew or release. Here was the final take on Ceballos,
We still have five months left in the campaign and the fans expect him to contribute to the cause but he has been an underwhelming signing thus far.
Which is why its surprising with the Metro reporting that Ceballos requested for his loan to be cut short, in his bid to find where he will play competitive football with Euro 2020 in sight. This is compounded with the cryptic Instagram message he sent to Hector Bellerin, stating how he would miss his left-footed volley against Chelsea and he wishes him the best.
Since Mikel Arteta arrived at the club in late December 2019, Ceballos has not played under his compatriot but with Arsenal still in the Europa League and FA Cup, the expectation is there for the midfield maestro to get a couple of games to contribute to the side. So the idea of him trying to leave, especially when Arteta confirmed that there will be no new signings in January (yes, we are stuck with Mustafi) will make the team lightweight in the middle. We know Joe Willock and Guendouzi can deputize for the starting duo of Xhaka and Lucas Torreira, but Mesut Ozil needs some cover as well. In this scenario, Willock can push up to feature as the #10 while Ceballos can play alongside Guendouzi, as confirmed by Arteta himself,
“I like him (Ceballos) more when he’s close to the box rather than coming deep to receive the ball. Defensively he can play in a two, rather than as a number 10. I don’t really see him as an isolated number 10 playing with two holding midfielder.
“He’s a very creative player, one who can cause problems in the final third, he always wants the ball, he had big personality to play so I like him.”
The fact that he has not featured as much as he would have hoped must have taken its toll on his decision making, but Arsenal as a club is obligated to stick with him till the end of the season. We will monitor the situation closely to see how both parties react as we edge closer to the end of the transfer window, so we might expect some decisions from the Arsenal hierarchy in the coming days.
Ceballos has had a disappointing loan spell from a personal perspective, but it doesn’t need to have a disappointing ending.
Sayonara
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Players with Expiring Contracts: Sell, Renew or Release?
Both players contracts expire in 2021
Players within the current Arsenal setup will reach that point when the manager, Mikel Arteta, will make the decision on whether to renew their current deals, release them on a free transfer or sell them without batting an eyelid.
Arsenal, like every well run business oriented football club, handed contracts to certain individuals with the aim of enhancing their chances of winning trophies but as we all know, it does not work out every time for some of these lads. Gooner Daily takes a look at those players with deals expiring in 18 months’ time and provide some thoughts on whether the club’s stance should be to renew their contracts, release them or sell them to new employers.
Dani Ceballos: 17 apps, one goal (2020)
Losing a player like Aaron Ramsey was a bitter pill to swallow for every Arsenal fan, especially with the fact that he does not feature on a consistent basis for Juventus. Raul Sanllehi pushed some strings and Arsenal signed Dani Ceballos on loan from Real Madrid, which came with some good buzz and fanfare.
We witnessed him dazzle crowds for his nation, Spain, in the Under-21 European Championships, and he even took the number vacated by Ramsey, so we expected much from him. Bar the Burnley game early in the season where he shone like a bright star, Ceballos struggled for fitness making him a liability to the club, than an asset.
Ceballos celebrating his only goal for the Gunners
We still have five months left in the campaign and the fans expect him to contribute to the cause but he has been an underwhelming signing thus far.
Verdict: Release
Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 61 apps, five goals (2021)
At 31, Sokratis enjoyed a career where he featured in Greece (Apollon Petalidiou, GS Niki Volou and AEK Athens) before he moved to Italy to play for Genoa and AC Milan. The Italian adventure ended a decade ago, as he went to seek green pastures in SV Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund before Arsenal came calling last season.
Since his arrival at the club, he has had his good moments and loads of shaky ones as well, but Arsenal fans can not beat their chest in confidence to say that they have an awesome defender in him. With the exciting William Saliba returning to the club after his loan spell at St. Etienne expires this summer, folks know that Sokratis would live on borrowed time, till the inevitable happens at the end of the 2020/21 season.
Did I tell you that I loved his run out as a right back in the FA Cup clash against Leeds?
Verdict: Release
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 59 apps, nine goals (2021)
Where to start? Oh yes! The worst swap deal in football history, to Arsenal and Manchester United fans at least. We believed that the talent and ability was there for all to see. This was the same lad that scored 41 goals and created 38 assists in three seasons at Borussia Dortmund.
We thought they would forge a good partnership
What we got instead was an inconsistent and underwhelming player that sat on his fat pay check and did not contribute as expected. Heck, Arsenal even sold Alex Iwobi to Everton and preferred to give Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith-Rowe run outs in the team, while shipping Mkhitaryan off to AS Roma on transfer deadline day.
I have thrown more light on the Mkhitaryan issue in a an article I published at Gunners Town.
Verdict: Sell (but not for that paltry €10m Roma offered us)
Shkodran Mustafi: 125 apps, five goals (2021)
No need to waste any comments here!
Verdict: Sell with a thanks for buying hamper for good measure
David Luiz: 22 apps, one goal (2021)
Arsenal did not resume this season with any plans of buying a player from Chelsea, especially David Luiz, that had lost his starting berth in the team to the younger and more exuberant defenders like Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen and Fikayo Tomori. The club’s captain, Laurent Koscielny, for reasons best known to Lord Voldemort, Darth Vader and Chuck Norris, bailed out of the club he served for nine years, leaving us in the lurch.
With Rob Holding injured, we had just Calum Chambers, Mustafi and Sokratis as the only available defenders for the campaign and those numbers were short by all standards. In what I, and many fans would regard as a surprise, Arsenal snapped up David Luiz from Chelsea.
We are already aware of his limitations as a player, and we commend him for the decent shift he has put this season but we are certain he would not be a Gunner beyond next season.
Verdict: Release
Mesut Ozil: 246 apps, 43 goals (2021)
Mesut Ozil continues to remain a divisive figure at the club but in recent times, his fortunes changed, especially with Mikel Arteta making him the hub of the team. I know that since he signed that whooping £350,000 per week deal in January 2018, the jury was out for him to perform wonders in the team but it ended in disappointment.
However, I see a different beast in Ozil and we are odds on to see him come back to his best under the tutelage of the new inspiring gaffer.
Verdict: Renew
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 90 apps, 56 goals (2021)
“I would also like to react to some of the rumors going around about me in the media.”
“People like making up stories and they should focus on what’s happening on the pitch. They talk too much and it does my head in!
“I am the Arsenal captain, I love this club, I am committed to it and desperate to bring it back to the top, where it belongs.”
Quotes from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the year of our Lord, 2020.
Verdict: Renew
Sayonara.
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