Dani Ceballos lauds Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta for midfielder’s development

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Dani Ceballos has told Arsenal’s official website that Mikel Arteta played a crucial role in his improvement during the second-half of last season, and admitted that he was wrong to expect to play more while he was not fully fit earlier in the campaign.

Ceballos enjoyed an incredibly mixed first season at the Emirates. He looked set to be another disappointing loan signing for the Gunners as Arteta arrived as Unai Emery’s successor.

However, the 24-year-old was one of Arsenal’s best players following Arteta’s appointment. That is why it appeared such a massive boost when it was recently announced that Ceballos had returned for a second loan spell ahead of this season.

And ahead of his second debut for the club, Ceballos shared just how influential Arteta had been during his time with the Gunners with things not exactly going to plan before his countryman’s arrival.

“It wasn’t easy for me to get into the team either because I was coming off the back of a long injury lay-off,” he told the club’s official website, when discussing his struggles last season. “I felt like I should be playing but I was wrong about that because I wasn’t fit. The coach was really straight with me and said that if I got myself fit and kept working hard, I’d have a chance of getting back into the team.

“I ended up performing well and repaying the faith he’d shown in me before the Newcastle game. From that moment onwards, we started to build a good coach/player bond and things went well for me personally. I think he’s made me a much better player in the last six months.”

TBR View: Ceballos one of Arteta’s biggest success stories so far

It does appear that Arteta has helped a number of players improve during his brief tenure. The likes of David Luiz and Granit Xhaka, for example, were outstanding at times.

Ceballos was another of Arteta’s success stories. So keeping him looks to be a fantastic piece of business.

And if he can pick up where he left off last season, Arsenal’s second loan deal will quickly look like a masterstroke.