‘I was wrong’: Arsenal star explains how Arteta made him ‘a much better player’

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Dani Ceballos spoke to Arsenal’s official website about how Mikel Arteta helped him improve last season.

The Spaniard spent the whole of last season on loan from Real Madrid. His performances in the first half of the campaign, like most Arsenal players, weren’t at the level required, but he turned his season around, especially after Project Restart.

Things weren’t really great between Arteta and Ceballos early on. The Spaniard was on the verge of returning to Spain in January when he wasn’t a regular at Arsenal.

He had just come back from an injury and Arteta refused to play him until he was back to his best. Ceballos, naturally, was frustrated but he has admitted now that the Arsenal boss’ decision was the right one.

He said: “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. 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.”

Ceballos was arguably Arsenal’s best player under Arteta after the break. The Spaniard bossed the midfield alongside Granit Xhaka and without him, the Gunners might have struggled to go all the way in the FA Cup.

The Real Madrid man has returned for another season on loan. Ceballos, in an attacking sense, can offer much more than he did for the Gunners last season.

Arteta will be hoping that his compatriot can get better when the season starts this weekend. If he continues his form, Arsenal will definitely eye a permanent deal for him next summer, something they would have done now if they had the funds.