Arsenal: Ranking the central midfielders for the Mikel Arteta era

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LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 23: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal gives Dani Ceballos of Arsenal instructions during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Everton FC at Emirates Stadium on February 23, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /

3. Dani Ceballos

There might not be a more difficult player to determine ahead of the summer transfer window than Dani Ceballos. Is he a creator? Is he a box-to-box? Can he score goals? Or should he anchor a midfield as a deep-lying playmaker? In reality, Ceballos is capable in all of these roles. That is what makes him such a difficult assignment to analyse.

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And then there is the added complication of his loan. Ceballos will return to Real Madrid in the summer. Even if Arteta does view the Spaniard as a key part of his midfield in the future, there is no guarantee that Arsenal can afford Ceballos and attract him back to the Emirates on a permanent basis.

Despite these awkward elements, it is quite clear that Ceballos is a smoother, more creative version of Xhaka. He does not have the same range of passing from deep, but he is a much more capable dribbler, is happy to receive the ball under pressure, spinning past defenders and into space to move Arsenal out of trouble, and has a little more athleticism than his midfield partner — it is still a weakness to his game.

That limited athleticism, sometimes wayward passing radar, and scrappy and industrious but not always successful defensive impact means he will likely never quite be an elite midfielder. But he can be a very useful option. The only issue? How much it will cost to make him a part of the Arteta rebuild.

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