Arsenal: Dani Ceballos has it all figured out already

Arsenal have wads of talent, but after just a month or so at the club, Dani Ceballos has already found the biggest wad of gold.

Arsenal‘s base of talented players is growing, and most of these carry internationally acclaimed profiles that the Gunners weren’t used to harboring. Arsene Wenger was known for his under-the-radar stuff, but Unai Emery and the new brain trust is going the opposite way.

As such, it makes it a bit hard to determine who on the team carries the biggest profile these days. Obviously Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is up there, and EA Sports thinks he’s our best player as well, but you also have to still consider Mesut Ozil, who, despite his struggles, is still one of the most talented players out there.

Nicolas Pepe is going to be including his name on that list soon, and Dani Ceballos as well, even if he doesn’t stay long-term. But then, of course, there is Alexandre Lacazette, the player of the season, the ridiculously underrated, and the man who Ceballos has pegged as “the guy.”

This isn’t a revolutionary opinion. Most fans have known for years that Lacazette is the most talented player on the pitch. And, as a side note, that’s why EA Sports have yet again proven that their rating system is flawed.

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But Ceballos gets it already. The creative attacker knows that, even when put up against the goal scoring prowess of Aubameyang, Lacazette is still the feature.

And it’s for the same reason that everyone has been saying this for years. Because if you judge Lacazette based on goal value, you’ll be disappointed. But if you judge him based on overall value to the club and to the performance on the pitch, he’s far and away the best player we have.

It’s not the goal scoring, it’s his ability to navigate in space, to take his chances well, to dribble and pass and link up play. It’s his willingness to track back and defend, to go all out of the club, to leave nothing on the pitch when he’s inevitably and questionably subbed off in every single match.

Lacazette is our best player. It doesn’t take a genius to see that, but it is nice to know that Ceballos sees it already. If nothing else, that means that Ceballos has the kind of footballing mind that can read the game better than most. Or something like that.