Arsenal: Please don’t let Dani Ceballos become Denis Suarez

Arsenal have yet to utilize Dani Ceballos since his return from injury, and now it’s becoming a question of what might have been. Sound familiar?

I really don’t like when bad things happen twice. Especially so close to each other. Arsenal have had a need for a creative midfielder for years now. Someone who could fill the void that Mesut Ozil is inevitably going to leave.

Last year, we tried Denis Suarez. You might have already forgotten he was here. After struggling to acclimate, he improved little by little until an injury knocked him out for the year. Obviously we weren’t going to make the loan permanent because we had no idea what he was actually capable of. He had some positive moments, but you don’t sign based on moments.

It was dubbed a nightmare for both sides and we tried to forget about it. Honestly, the whole ‘forgetting about it’ thing worked pretty well.

Last summer, we tried another loan for another talented Spanish midfielder from La Liga giants. This time Dani Ceballos. After struggling to acclimate, he improved little by little until an injury knocked him out for a long period of time.

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Now that he’s back he isn’t being used as the season winds down and there are rumors that he’s set to leave at the end of his loan. After all, he came to the Emirates to get game time and he isn’t getting game time.

For all the excitement and optimism that I felt towards Ceballos, I felt at least a little bit more towards Dani Ceballos. I do not want to see them both end in the same exact way. Wasted time. Wasted optimism. Wasted potential.

Ceballos still has time to turn that around, but if we’re already resigned to let him go, then what’s the point of using him except in a moment of pure desperation? Which I doubt we will have, given our midfield crop.

All signs point to a quiet—and yet again wasted—exit for another talented Spanish midfield undone by injury. I hate to see it, and I’m still hopeful that things can turn around before the end of the year. But even still, the sample size has been so small and inconclusive. Just like Denis Suarez.

Prove me wrong, Arsenal! Unlike some people, I love being proven wrong. At least in moments of doubt. And right now I’m doubting.