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“His intention was to stay at Arsenal” – Arteta on Ceballos

Dani Ceballos, Mikel Arteta
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed that the Real Madrid loanee Dani Ceballos told him that he wants to remain in London.

Ceballos enjoyed a decent season-long loan at the Emirates, helping Arsenal to reach Europa League promotion thanks to a 2-1 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

The 24-year-old midfielder had been struggling with form and fitness before the coronavirus outbreak halted proceedings in England.

But, he has enjoyed a renaissance since the resumption of football in June, cementing his place in Mikel Arteta’s starting line-up.

Impressed with everything he saw from Ceballos post restart, Arteta was desperate to extend his compatriot’s stay in London.

Unfortunately for Arsenal, Zinedine Zidane has recalled the occasional Spain international as he wants to assess his development first hand.

There’s a big question mark over Ceballos’ head as his future can still go many ways, but Arteta believes that the player’s set his heart on the North London outfit.

“He told me pretty clearly that his intention was to stay at Arsenal, but obviously we have to consider that Real Madrid are involved as well, and I still don’t know their plan here,” he said, as transmitted by the ManagingMadrid.

“We’re obviously interested in a player like him because, as we saw during the last few months of the season, he can give us a lot.”

Arsenal remain hopeful of landing Ceballos again before the transfer window was over, but AC Milan will be looking to provide stiff competition.

The Rossoneri are also in the market for a creative midfielder and have reportedly identified the former Real Betis man as one of the possible targets.

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