Arsenal: Yes, Dani Ceballos really is that good

Dani Ceballos made his full debut for Arsenal in Saturday’s win over Burnley. And while the excitement surrounding him is a vast, his performance really did deserve it.

It is very easy to get overexcited by a debut. There is a natural erring towards the positive. When you have something shiny and new, something that arrives with hope and expectation, you naturally look for what confirms those faith-filled preconceptions, even if it is not really there.

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If you were to merely read what was said about Arsenal new-boy Dani Ceballos after Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Burnley, you would think that the very same mental unhinging is taking place. The rose-tinted glasses are out in full force. But take just five minutes to watch his home debut at the heart of the midfield and you would very quickly realise that he really was that good.

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Unai Emery inserted Ceballos into the central midfield triumvirate in place of the injured Granit Xhaka. While Xhaka naturally sits a little deeper than the Spaniard, Ceballos is not an orthodox creative attacking midfielder. Very much like Kevin de Bruyne or Cristian Eriksen, the two greatest attacking midfielders in the Premier League in recent seasons, Ceballos boasts the ingenious qualities to carve open opposing defences, but pairs this with a willingness and natural athleticism to both deal with and implement the high press that has swept the footballing world.

As such, while he replaced Xhaka, a defensive midfielder, he played in a manner that did not upset the balance of the central midfield, just as Emery highlighted in his post-match press conference:

"” I spoke with him – before coming here – to play like an eight and a 10. Today he started like a 10, but a lot of times he was changing with Willock into the eight position, where he can feel better on the pitch.”"

Ceballos played in a manner extremely reminiscent to Santi Cazorla, and not just because he is Spanish. Wriggly in his dribbling and wonderfully difficult to tackle, he spun into space vacated by Burnley midfielders who attempted to hound and harass his first touch. His passing was accurate, his touch was excellent, and, perhaps most impressively, he was always looking to receive possession, despite his presumed discomfort in English football — he had played just 26 minutes in the Premier League prior to this weekend.

Ceballos also notched two assists, the first a corner swung into Alexandre Lacazette, the second a wonderful moment where he pressed a Burnley player, recovered the ball with a snapping tackle, and watched as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang raced away to take advantage of an exposed Burnley backline and fire a rasping shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.

By the time he trudged off the Emirates pitch in the 83rd minute, no player had covered more ground, clear proof of his deceptive mobility and work rate. He ended the match with two assists, 70 passes, a 90% pass accuracy, 97 touches, 17 ball recoveries, four take-ons, all of which were successful, four chances created, three fouls won. He received a raucous standing ovation for his astounding performance.

Is it easy to overhype Ceballos just because he is new? You bet it is. But on this occasion, he really did play that well. This kid might just be special.