Arsenal: 3 reasons for and against signing Dani Ceballos

2, Against: We don’t know how reliable he can be

This is a huge factor when considering any long-term move. We want to know that they can be counted on to do the job asked of them and for £36m, we really want to be sure. That’s why I’m not exactly all about the links to Carlos Soler. Do we really think he’s worth that money?

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Ask that same question about Ceballos. If you spend that much money on a midfielder, you want him to be a starter and one that you can count on to anchor and be a major presence in that midfield. That’s not far from what we spent on Granit Xhaka and look at how much each and every manager relies on him.

We don’t know if Ceballos can be that guy yet. As the previous point for him can attest to, he can grow into the role, sure, but that’s no guarantee either. What if we spend all that money on him and he proves to be as inconsistent as Mesut Ozil and incapable of being the reliable central midfielder that we need him to be?

Then it’s just wasted money, leaving us in need of finding someone else to cover for a bad investment.

Next up, another reason for him.