Arsenal midfielder Dani Ceballos was by no means the only poor performer against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup last night, but the Spaniard is enduring a tough period at the moment.
The Gunners were overrun by their opponents in midfield, with neither Ceballos nor Mohamed Elneny able to stem the tide, and supporters on Twitter feel the Real Madrid loanee has gone backwards during his second spell at the Emirates:
Nah, he was good for one month. Not good enough. You cant have 11 bad months and one good month.
— Arsenal Rathan (@RathanSelva) December 22, 2020
Sorry man Ceballos isn’t worth 5m
— Satoru Gojo (@frozenIord) December 22, 2020
That's why Zidane doesn't rate him
— Homer Dong (@HomerDong) December 22, 2020
Please dnt sign https://t.co/UJ2js5kOvJ not good enough for us.let him go back to is club.
— clinton (@slim_icey) December 22, 2020
Spinderella was the safe option this summer, we could have brought in a CM with legs and guile…
— Georgio (@MrTibbs___) December 22, 2020
I really hope we don’t sign him
— Dana Till (@dana_till) December 22, 2020
If he thinks he’ll get in to Spain team let alone the Real Madrid team the guy is absolutely deluded – bang average
— Dan Goldsmith (@DanGoldsmith88) December 22, 2020
Feel like Dani would be a fine complement with 2 world class midfielders with him. In that way his tricks and flicks would work. Playing in a 2 with a mop doesn't work
— Tobey (@04tobster007) December 22, 2020
Smart buy? Complete waste of money. He is not made for premier league.
— Sourav Roy (@ichbinroy94) December 22, 2020
While Ceballos doesn’t hide and puts himself about by making interceptions and tackles, he rarely produces the requisite quality on the ball, failing to add the creativity the team desperately needs.
The player clearly has ability but at 24 years of age, he should be showing it more often than he is. With Thomas Partey injured, manager Mikel Arteta may have little choice but to persist with the Spanish international against Chelsea this weekend, but he is certainly not making a case for himself to be a regular starter.