Arsenal: At least we don’t have to stress about Dani Ceballos anymore

Dani Ceballos’ Arsenal future used to be a huge stress, but recent developments have removed him from that category, for better or worse.

I understand now why Arsene Wenger steered away from loans, and I understand it all thanks to Dani Ceballos. Arsenal has been through the ringer with the Spanish midfielder, to the point that it was dizzying trying to keep track of where we stood on any given day.

Ceballos went from being “how could we ever convince him to stay?” to “do we really want to sign him?” to “I’m just not sure” to “he could be a solution, but it’s impossible to tell.” It’s been crazy, and based on play alone, you can conclude nothing based on what we should or should not be doing.

With Arsenal in desperate need of a new central midfielder, Ceballos seemed the prime candidate, having had a year audition to prove himself the right fit for the job. But in that year all we’ve learned is that he has talent, he got hurt, and we don’t know what he’s capable of.

Still, the fact that he has talent made him an attractive option and one worth exploring. Real Madrid was supposedly asking for around £30m, which wasn’t awful. It still required some deliberation, but it was worth considering.

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

Now, though, all that consideration can be clubbed over the head and buried. According to recent reports, Real Madrid will be looking for not £30m, but rather £44m. Meaning he will cost the same amount as Thomas Partey would.

To add to that, Ceballos said in an interview this week that he hoped to play at Real Madrid again.

While I’m basing this off a reported price and a quote that, while concerning, isn’t altogether damning, in tandem, I think it’s safe to say that Ceballos won’t be here next year. Sure, he has some heavy competition at Real Madrid, and he pointed that out too. But unless Arsenal can prove that price tag rumor false and get a decrease on the reported price before that, then this just isn’t realistic and we can stop thinking about it.

I really like Ceballos, but I’m not going to lose sleep over him not making the move permanent. There are too many other players to get excited about. No point in clinging on to a move that we weren’t even sure was right for the club anyway.