Arsenal make painfully obvious Dani Ceballos transfer decision

Arsenal weren’t left to rue missed chances against Villarreal on Thursday and instead the blame lay almost entirely on Mikel Arteta’s shoulders, and his insistence on fielding player who regularly let the club down. Those such as Dani Ceballos.

Arteta need only have turned on Twitter at half-time and read the first Arsenal related post to see that keeping Dani Ceballos on the pitch was a foolish error. The Spaniard was hopelessly caught out of position throughout the opening 45 minutes, doing his upmost to elevate his deficiencies that have been the source of irritation over the course of his near two-year spell in north London.

Of course, Arteta shouldn’t have to see what was etched across his countryman’s forehead. As the manager of a top club, he should have foreseen it himself. What’s worse, Captain Obvious even threw him another lifeline seconds after the restart when Ceballos was penalised for a trip that itself could have warranted a second booking.

The red card arrived shortly after, albeit an unintentional foul, and he was sent packing. Packing for good, that is.

Arsenal make painfully obvious Dani Ceballos transfer decision as Gunners choose not to sign Real Madrid midfielder in summer transfer window

As per Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal will not take up the option to either sign the 24-year-old permanently or bring him back for a third loan and instead Ceballos will return to Real Madrid before being sold in the summer.

What a painstakingly obvious decision that was to make. The only remarkable aspect of it being that Arsenal actually agree on it. And, as per the report, it was a call made ‘weeks ago’. Even then, it should have been clear far earlier.

Ceballos has profited from that run he went on at the end of the last campaign. In the 3-4-3 setup he put a solid enough run together with Granit Xhaka in the heart of midfield, and while that didn’t transpire in terms of goal involvements, the cost efficiency of the move for a club sorely lacking in funding gave the decision some merit.

Still never ‘good enough’, as a squad player there was a degree of understanding on the club’s part. Since then, however, he’s been woefully out of form – if indeed he has ‘form’ – showcasing the same schoolboy errors and weak decision making that has cost the club numerous goals.

The mere thought of shelling out £25m for him sends a cold shiver down the spine. Another player whose work ethic or commitment can’t be questioned, Ceballos has just been leaps below the required standard and, crucially, hasn’t learned from his mistakes.

There will be no tears shed in north London.