For Dani Ceballos, this season was meant to be one where he put himself in the window for Luis Enrique to see, hoping to get enough game time with Arsenal to try and convince the Spain national team manager to pick him for the 2020 Euros, and if that didn’t work out, at least get a chance to feature in the Olympic Games.
It all started well too, playing reasonably frequently under Unai Emery, but then injury struck, and the midfielder missed two months of football, taking his time to work his way back into the first-team amid a managerial change at the Emirates.
Still, everything eventually got back on track, until the Covid-19 pandemic happened and both the Euros and Olympic Games were pushed back until 2021.
Now on lockdown, Ceballos sat down with El Chiringuito in Spain to talk about his season, touching on a variety of subjects, such as his current situation at Arsenal and what his future could hold.
For now, like most loanees, his primary concern is what happens with his contract, as the midfielder is meant to stay at the Emirates until the end of the season, but with football currently on hold, there’s a chance he might have to stay beyond that.
He said: “I have a loan deal with Arsenal until June 30th, and I don’t know what I’ll need to do beyond that date.”
🔴"Tengo CONTRATO de CESIÓN con el ARSENAL hasta el 30 de JUNIO y no sé qué tendría qué hacer DESPUÉS de esa fecha"@DaniCeballos46, jugador del ARSENAL, en directo en #ChiringuitoEnCasa pic.twitter.com/D2xRlzG9cR
— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) March 31, 2020
However, the interview wasn’t a good sign for the Gunners if they hoped to try and keep Ceballos longer than his initial loan, as the player made it clear he ‘missed being in Spain and close to his family’.
Since he’s got a contract with Real Madrid, it’s increasingly likely he’ll return there once the current campaign is over, but what happens beyond that is still a mystery.
There was some interest in him during the January transfer window, which he’s very aware of.
He said: “My agent told me about the interest of teams and I wasn’t playing because I was returning from my injury. I started training and my situation changed. In the last month and a bit I started to feel important again at Arsenal. Yes, I knew of Valencia’s interest.”
Real Betis were also keen on him, and Ceballos made it clear that if he ever went to play for a club in Seville, it would be them.
Either way, it doesn’t seem like he’s thinking about a future at Arsenal, or in England, for that matter.
