Dani Ceballos is set to stay at Arsenal until the end of the season after changing his mind about a possible departure.
The Spanish midfielder joined the Gunners on loan from Real Madrid in the summer transfer window and was initially a hit at the Emirates.
However, he has struggled for a first-team place in recent months, with injuries and a lack of form seeing him fall down the pecking order.
That had sparked suggestions he wanted to end his loan spell prematurely and find a new club back in Spain.
However, Arsenal were not keen on that happening and according to AS they have got their wish, with Ceballos now deciding to stay at the club.
A 21-minute cameo against Bournemouth in the cup ‘reinforced his morale’ and he now feels able to ‘reverse the situation’ and end up as an important part of Mikel Arteta’s plans.
He had been contemplating changing clubs after struggling to get a first-team place, something that threatened his chances of going to the European Championships in the summer.
However, getting a new club was complicated, with Arsenal determined to keep hold of him as they knew he would be an important player in the coming months.
They were not willing to let him go after making a ‘strong economic investment’ to get him in the summer.
Similarly, his parent club Real Madrid were not keen on letting him go to Valencia, the club who were pushing to get him should he leave the Gunners, and this complicated things further.
As a result, Ceballos has ‘totally changed’ his mind and now feels able to fight for a place in Arsenal’s first team.
He knows that his only chance of going to the Euros with Spain is to ‘gain ownership’ at the Emirates and plans to do just that in the coming months.
