Fabrizio Romano has revealed on Twitter that Dani Ceballos will be leaving Arsenal at the end of this season.
Ceballos has been on loan with Arsenal for the past two years, after originally joining during Unai Emery’s reign.
But the Spain international isn’t a first-team regular under Mikel Arteta and has started less than half of the Gunners’ 33 Premier League games this season.
The Real Madrid midfielder strongly hinted this week that he would be returning to Spain after revealing that football back his homeland suits him better than the English game.
Ceballos was sent off for Arsenal in their 2-1 Europa League defeat by Villarreal last night.
But Romano has revealed on Twitter that the 24-year-old – valued at £22 million by Real [La Razon] – made the decision last week and therefore his performance against Emery’s side last night won’t have made a huge difference to the situation.
Most Arsenal fans won’t miss Ceballos all that much.
Yes, he has occasionally shown glimpses of his potential, but for the most part he never really adapted to English football.
Like a lot of Arsenal players, consistency is his biggest problem and it’s best for all parties if he returns to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer.
One major highlight from him came in the FA Cup last season when his last-minute winner took Arteta’s side into a semi-final against Manchester City.
With Arsenal going on to lift the trophy, Ceballos, who was magnificent in the final, certainly played his role in that success, but he hasn’t kicked on this season and now it seems he never will.
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