Securing Europa League football by winning the FA Cup final, Arsenal bolstered their chances of having a successful summer transfer window when they beat Chelsea 2-1 at Wembley.
The financial rewards may not be that of the Champions League, but the Gunners will receive at least £30million in payments from UEFA and matchday revenue for making the group stages which begin on October 22. Furthermore, the FA Cup triumph ensured the players’ wage cuts were dropped to 7.5% from 12.5% with some of that money being put towards the transfer budget.
Much of the focus in regard to these financial boosts has been on how it will help Arsenal’s pursuit for their top transfer targets and in particular, Thomas Partey. The Atletico Madrid midfielder has been linked with a move to north London throughout the 2019/20 campaign and now the season has come to an end, reports of interest have resurfaced.
As it stands, reports claim Arsenal are still offering €25million [£22.8million] plus one player for Partey while Madrid stand firm that they will only part with the 27-year-old for his release clause of €50million [£45.09million].
When assessing the situation, however, Mikel Arteta, Raul Sanllehi and Edu can travel a much less troubled path to sign a midfielder they know will have as strong an impact on the midfield as they need, and that path would lead them to Dani Ceballos.
The main qualities that make Partey such an attractive proposition are his ability to travel with the ball, his defensive awareness/timing in a tackle and his passing in the final third.
Although Ceballos took time to find consistency, these were were aspects of his game that were always clear strengths. His home debut against Burnley laid the perfect marker for what Arsenal fans could expect when the 23-year-old was at his best – a truly multifaceted box-to-box midfielder. That day, he made the most touches [97], most chances created [four], most ball recoveries [seven], won the most fouls [three], completed the most take-ones [four], made the most tackles [two] and made two assists.
Losing direction under Unai Emery resulted in a severe drop in form as the Spaniard was played as a No.8. No.10. and even out wide in a 4-4-2, but Arteta’s arrival served as the perfect medicine.
Used exclusively as a number eight alongside Granit Xhaka, the mix of defensive and creative quality in Ceballos’ game has been key to the way Arsenal play since February’s winter break, but this became even more apparent after the restart. In the Premier League, he made the most successful defensive actions [93], most interceptions [40], most ball recoveries in opposition half [26], won the third most loose balls [10], made the made passes in the final third [69] and assisted the most shots [11] at Arsenal, as per data curated by twenty3.
While Xhaka acted more as a ‘quarterback’ under Arteta, Ceballos took the more abrasive role in which he would roam through the middle third putting out fires and simultaneously getting Arsenal on the move – a task Partey would be expected to do just as well, if not better, were he to arrive in north London.
Although Ceballos’ performances under Arteta serve as proof that he can take ultimate control of the Gunners midfield, that isn’t the only factor in his favour. There are still hurdles for Arsenal to pass, as they would like to extend his loan while Real Madrid is in favour of a permanent deal but the reported price for that permanent deal stands at around £25million, as reported by The Mirror.
Having demonstrated the impact he is able to have on the Arsenal midfield and being available at a much cheaper price, what pushes the case for Ceballos over the edge is that both himself and Arteta are open to him returning to the Emirates for the 2020/21 campaign.
