It seems likely that Dani Ceballos will sign for Arsenal on loan before the end of the transfer window. Multiple reports have suggested that the Spaniard is close to moving to the Emirates.

Would the 22-year-old offer something different that Arsenal’s midfield doesn’t already possess? Here are three things he could add to the Gunners, according to the numbers:

Forward Passing Accuracy

If we include Joe Willock, Arsenal currently have five other players who can play in central midfield. Looking at Ceballos’s forward passing accuracy compared to the others, he comes out on top.

The Spaniard’s accuracy was 90.64%, higher than Matteo Guendouzi (83%) and Granit Xhaka (80%) who are the next two highest on the list.

It means Ceballos isn’t just safe with his passing whilst going sideways or backwards, he is also very accurate when progressing the ball forward. A key trait for an offensive midfielder.

Key Passes

Creating openings is a key part of a central midfield player’s role, and Ceballos is superior to the current crop of Arsenal midfielders in the average number of key passes he makes every match.

In fact, he is very close to former midfielder Aaron Ramsey who averaged 0.31 key passes per game. Ceballos’s average is 0.28.

It must be said that Ceballos only averaged 0.07 assists per 90 minutes last season, which is actually lower than Granit Xhaka (0.12) and well behind Ramsey (0.19).

The Spanish international is showing signs he can be a potent creative force but he just needs to improve his end product.

Interceptions

Here’s an interesting statistic which wasn’t expected. Ceballos actually averaged more interceptions per 90 minutes than the likes of Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi.

Last season, he averaged 3.89 compared to Xhaka’s 3.76, and he is only just behind Torreira (4.61) in this regard. He also works hard to recover the ball (averaging 7.22 per match), which was something that Ramsey was not so good at (4.49).

It means Arsenal would be getting a pretty well-rounded player, who is not afraid to work hard defensively as well as providing an outlet offensively.

At his age as well, he has potential to develop his game even further and it’s no surprise that manager Unai Emery is said to be keen to get the loan over the line before the transfer window shuts in 17 days time.