Arteta urged to seal deal for Ceballos with Valencia circling | OneFootball

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has been told he must provide assurances to Dani Ceballos that he will get a fair crack of the whip when it comes to first team chances next season — to try to avert the possibility of him ending his stay with the Gunners.

Ceballos has enjoyed a successful loan period at the Emirates Stadium this season since he switched from Real Madrid but it was former head coach Unai Emery who brought him to north London from the Spanish giants, not Arteta.

Since the latter replaced the former at the end of last year, Ceballos has returned from injury and won his place back in the midfield with many pundits and fans urging the club to make the move permanent in the summer.

But now it has emerged that both Real Betis and Valencia are keen to land the playmaker and he is hopeful of getting more game time to boost his chances of getting a place in the Spain squad for what will now be the Euro 21 tournament. It is said that it is unlikely Los Blancos head coach Zinedine Zidane will want to keep hold of Ceballos and that he will be told he can make a permanent move elsewhere.

With boundless flair, a tremendous work ethic and a steely edge, Ceballos — who began his career at Real Betis — has won over Gooners and they would love to see him make the move. And they want Arteta to keep him and build the Gunners’ side around him ahead of the new campaign.

Arteta has seen his plans to restructure Arsenal thrown into chaos since the coronavirus crisis enveloped the game and the world as a whole. The Gunners chief tested positive for the Covid-19 virus just before the season was suspended and with no real positive information suggesting that it will indeed restart, a kind of stalemate exists.

Arteta must wait to see how the remainder of the campaign pans out and how it will affect his decision-making in terms of how he shapes his squad. The permanent capture of Ceballos, however, would go down well with supporters.

Taxi driver Ajaye Singh, a season-ticket holder from Edmonton, London, said: