Arsenal: Dani Ceballos delivering that crucial counter-punch

Arsenal fans were caught in a tizzy when it was revealed that Dani Ceballos didn’t want Real Madrid to sell him, but the counter-punch has landed.

I knew this would happen, and I’m so happy it happened so soon. Just weeks after the somewhat disturbing reports that Dani Ceballos explicitly asked not to be sold to Arsenal, and that his loan not have an option to buy, the counter-punch has been delivered and it has connected in a pretty hefty way.

After his exploits against Burnley and his late impact against Spurs, Ceballos became a quick fan favorite with his clear similarities to Santi Cazorla. No matter what Ceballos said about the comparisons being “too early,” it was impossible to escape.

But the looming shadow of his one-year loan, then accompanied by his lack of desire to join permanently, deadened the effect a bit.

Until recently.

Recently, Ceballos spoke to the Guardian and was completely open and candid about his time at the Emirates thus far. And the result produces that push back to those “don’t sell me reports” that we so craved for.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

Ceballos said that, among other things, he can hardly tell the difference between Real Madrid and Arsenal. He said he loves the club, loves the passion of the fans, and sees how big of a club this is. He gets it. And this isn’t the kind of interview or statement where it’s all fluff for the sake of filling the airwaves. These were genuine comments that read genuinely.

Dani Ceballos likes it here.

Step one in the mission to replace Santi Cazorla is complete. As we remember from Lucas Torreira, the transition wasn’t easy and he was quite open about that. But for Ceballos, life is good. London is good. The Emirates is good. All is good. And to think that he’s only had a small nibble of what this entire project could turn out to be.

Which, if you were to ask me, which I will now ask myself instead, means that there is now a hell of a lot more optimism that Ceballos could hang around for the long term and not go squawking back to Spain as soon as his loan is up.

After all, he spoke about the opportunity, and that’s what this is all about right? Giving someone the opportunity they wouldn’t find elsewhere. There’s still time. A lot of time. But at least this pushes back in the right direction.