Good morning, Arsenal are going to sign Dani Ceballos. On loan for a year.
This is where we are now as a club. £200m in cash lying around, signing players on loan. In a way we are streamlining the normal Arsenal process. See, normally, we like to sign a player to a 4 year deal then let that guy run down his deal and leave on a free. This way, we are letting him leave on a free after just one year!
Joking aside, Ceballos is probably out of Arsenal’s price range (plus he really wants to stay in Madrid) so a loan deal is the only option. If he’s as good in the Premier League as he is for Spain and Real Madrid, then Arsenal will almost certainly make top four. I already had Arsenal as favorites for fourth place but Ceballos playing well makes our case stronger.
And that’s the real logic here: get in a terrific player, get to the Champions League. End.
How good is he? Well, let’s start with the thing that Arsenal most need: another 90%+ passer. Ozil has been doing it mostly on his own now for a few years as Arsenal’s most solid passer adding another sure-footed midfielder is a huge leap forward. You are probably already tired of hearing me say this but Arsenal’s defensive problems start in midfield, where Arsenal struggle to hold possession and collapse under pressure. So, if he can come in and improve our possession play, it’s a good deal.
He also put up some astonishing numbers for Spain in Euro U21:
- 3.8 successful dribbles per game (of 5.2 attempted)
- 3.6 was fouled per game
- 2 tackles per game
- 1 interception per game (plus 0.6 blocked passes)
- 3 shots per game (1.8 outside the box)
- 2.8 key passes per game, all from open play – that’s ridic
- 65/71.4 short passes per game, 91%
- AND! 72% long pass completion rate
- 2 goals (both outside the box) and 2 assists
All of that is to say that the kid is good.
One caveat here is that he’s been playing in the #10 spot for Spain. Everyone seems to think he’s going to play deep for Arsenal, like next to Torreira, but I have my doubts. He’s coming in to replace Ramsey, I believe, and that means he’s going to play “in the hole” behind the strikers. That’s where Unai put Ramsey last season and where he has been playing Ozil this season. Ceballos adds some more defensive energy than Ozil. And also offers Unai the ability to play him with Ozil in the lineup at the same time. Ceballos can also play wide in the forward position, and will surprise you with his dribbling.
Things I’m worried about:
Can he settle at Arsenal? The League starts in 19 days and it might be a bit unrealistic to get him in the starting lineup that soon. But more importantly, it usually takes a full year for players to figure out the pace and power of the Premier League. Ceballos needs to hit the ground running.
He looks ungainly at times. Whenever I’ve watched him play, he’s trodding on the ball, sometimes almost falling over, and his moves lack the sort of polish I would normally expect from a top player. His touch is great though and his stats are top notch. So, it could just be my limited exposure.
Loans can be tricky too. You are asking a player (who really wants to play for Real Madrid) to come in and bleed red and white for one season and then go back to Madrid. And the Premier League is tough. And it’s cold and wet and did I mention that the Premier League is tough? Not only that but Arsenal’s midfielders are routinely targeted for fouls and rough play. And the Premier League has quality in so many clubs now.
But the real worry is Unai Emery. Where is he going to play Ceballos? How will he get the best out of him?
Right. That’s it. In other transfer news: Palace still want too much for Zahahaha and Celtic still want too much for Tierney. Those two deals seem to be off. Which I’m fine with. Maybe we can get someone else on loan? Vinicius? Ohhh, I know, surely there’s a 37 year old left back available somewhere.
‘Love the smell of levity in the morning.’
A nutshell of what happens with most of Arsenal’s youthful bright lights on loan. Pretty hard at a young age to slide right into a much different culture. Then play at the expected level. Chances are slim that Ceballos will ‘be all that’.
Here’s hoping though.
“Be excited”
-Josh Kroenke
Tbf, I’m happy with Ceballos on loan even though Emery won’t play him with Ozil. Also happy with Saliba for the longer term.
Tierney is off? Huh, my feeling was correct? Anyway, we’ll probably buy Zaha for 75m or so and call it a good deal.
Side note: That Zahahaha is too freaky. Reminds me off the Joker from Batman, specifically when he kills Robin. Strange association, but there it is.
Tim
Thanks for the post. I am happy if we get Ceballos on loan but it’s hard to imagine that he can come into the PL and make instant impact and then he goes back to Madrid next season.
I know you love passing stats but it’s hard to accept that they really are a good indication of a players impact. I doubt there are many players who are better then Elneny at maintaining possession and having great pass completion percentages and I suspect stats are superb however he still does not have any sort of positive impact. For the last couple years ozils passing stats were used to make the case that he was just as good as ever. However I think it’s pretty that his ability to influence has been declining for several years. I think the value of passing stats to predict a players positive influence are over rated.
Huh… I thought I included a much more comprehensive stats look than just passing. Maybe that all got cut off?
zahahahaha!
What do you look at then?
Hi, I hope it is ok to address you as Dillion without the rest of it? Lol.
The game is fast going scientific and I would ask what use is ‘The eye test’ if we cannot substantiate with stats? ‘The eye test’ is definitely not enough to help me decide between two good goalkeepers or defenders or strikers. That’s where stats trump intuition.
How good will this kid be vs. the last guy we got from Real Madrid?
HA!
When was the last time a loan player excelled at Arsenal? Benayoun? Was that a success? Maybe. At least he was better than Baptista! Ugh.
There’s a Ramsey-shaped hamstring that needs twinging. Hopefully Ceballos — whose name closely resembles the Spanish ‘caballos’ (horses) — can get the bit between his teeth and help us canter to fourth. Anything less and it’s the glue factory for him!
I think of cebollas – onions. As in, Dani wears his jeans so tight you can see he’s smuggling onions.
Saliba means “spit” in Spanish, so…
It is a tad unfortunate for Saliba that ‘b’ and ‘v’ are next to one another on our keyboards.
Not lying. My brother in law is from Colombia. That’s what he told me. Perhaps it’s a Colombian idiom.
Tim.
Fair enough. You did include other stats.
It’s funny, at the beginning of the transfer window I would have thought our first priority would have been to sign a cb to come straight into the team. Not that I don’t like our business this window, but I’m surprised we don’t at least hear the name of a cb being thrown around as a potential target. But hey, maybe Arsenal are just keeping a lid on it!
All I know is Ceballos is pretty s*it in FIFA 19.
It’s going to be funny to hear everyone complain when he trods on the ball trying to bypass a man and gets picked off.
He’s always almost falling over when he tries to beat a man. Reminds me a bit of Gervinho. Bet people are calling him “Spanish Gervinho” by the end of the year.
(with an option to buy) that line following a loan deal normally means the loaning club don’t want him.
so hopefully he is pretty good if real still want him back….
“I believe [team spirit] is a little bit like a flower. You have to take care of it and look after it every day, or else it will slowly die. But as well, you can make the flower bigger, better and prettier if you care for it.”
-Arsene Wenger
Will Arsenal finally fully bloom this season?
Dan I isn’t a natural #10. He isn’t a prolific creator in league play and doesn’t score as much as Ramsey. He plays a little more to he left, and I would say that he is more a replacement for Iwobi than Ozil.
He is just a more creative player than Iwobi. He is a little bit unorthodox when he plays, and that surprised me when he was signed by Real. I wondered why he was so expensive, until you see that he beats players even if he stumbles. His passes look like improvisation and sometimes seem like mistakes, but when you step back, you realise that he made the correct decision.
He is very busy and looks clumsy, but things come off so much for him that I started understanding it wasn’t luck, it was ability.
The Ozil replacement thing is really wierd. Last season Ramsey played at #10 like Fellaini. There really wasn’t a great performance by anyone in the #10 role in attack. I think that is because Emery’s football neglects the middle of the pitch as much as possible, and even though Ozil drifts out wide a lot, the middle is important in open up the pitch and offering other options for passes.
My money is on him being a competitor for Iwobi in all the positions he plays.
Emery said he views him as an ‘8 and 10’, which is how he classified Ramsey.
That is also how Iwobi is classified as well, but is being played as an introverted winger. Ceballos is what Suarez was supposed to be for Emery.
Toby Alderweireld‘s release clause of £25m runs out at the end of the week. I don’t understand why Arsenal is not looking to sign him! We badly need a defender especially since Koscielny is off too!
why not?
Off topic-ish…just read that Kroenke is going to buy out Rick Fox’s position in an esports team…for $30 million.
My sympathies to supporters of League of Legends Team Echo Fox.