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Football

01st Sep 2020

Dani Ceballos nears return to Arsenal from Real Madrid

Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos is nearing a return to Arsenal for a second season on loan following the success of his first spell

Reuben Pinder

He’s been begging for the move on Twitter

Dani Ceballos is nearing a second loan spell at Arsenal from Real Madrid, according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.

The Spaniard struggled to find his feet at Arsenal during the early stages of the 2019/20 season but later established himself as an important part of their midfield, alongside Granit Xhaka, whose return from zero to hero has been even more impressive.

Ceballos returned to Real Madrid after his slightly-longer-than-a-year long loan spell and has been itching to return to North London ever since. During the Community Shield, in which Mohamed Elneny took his place in midfield, Ceballos’ twitter feed showed him watching the game from his home in Spain and celebrating Arsenal’s opening goal and the winning penalty.

Look at him. He’s gagging to put the red and white jersey back on.

The midfielder is so desperate to reunited with Mikel Arteta at the Emirates that he has turned down other loan bids, including at least one from his native Spain.

Arsenal are expected to announce the player’s return – or, extended stay – with the Gunners in the coming days.

The north London side are also set to announce the arrival of Lille centre-back Gabriel Magalhães, having beaten off interest from other interested clubs, including Manchester United, obviously.