Ian Wright has urged Mikel Arteta not to sign Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid this summer after his current loan deal comes to an end.
Ceballos has been inconsistent at best in recent months, with his season largely defined by high-profile mistakes. The latest came in the first leg of Arsenal’s Europa League semi-final against Villarreal, when he was sent off early in the second half after a mistimed challenge on Dani Parejo.
After two consecutive seasons on loan in north London, Ceballos is set to return to Madrid in June. Wright doesn’t feel that he’s done enough to warrant a permanent transfer.
“You say who’s vulnerable, you look at [Lucas] Torreira and [Matteo] Guendouzi, Joe Willock is doing very well at Newcastle, [William] Saliba’s doing well as well,” Wright told Premier League Productions when asked about the future of Arsenal ’s loan players.
“You look at it and you think to yourself those players, every one of them apart from [Konstantinos] Mavropanos who’s not really had a chance [and] Saliba, maybe those players should be where they are.
“I’d like to see Joe Willock get an opportunity but I don’t think it’s going to happen.
(Image: PA)
“I don’t think we should be signing Ceballos, I just don’t think he’s what we need now.
“I think that we’ve got young players coming through who should get an opportunity in front of Ceballos. If he’s going to do anything to stay at Arsenal it would’ve been seen already by now.”
Wright was more enthusiastic about the prospect of Arsenal’s other Real Madrid loanee, Martin Odegaard, switching clubs, but expressed doubts over whether the club hierarchy can successfully oversee a summer rebuild. “Odegaard is somebody who I’d like to see sign, but at the same time the people who are going to oversee who’s coming in and who’s going out are unfortunately the same people who signed someone like Willian for three years,” he said.
“Are we going to give those people the power to try to do this overhaul? I don’t trust them. It worries me.
“As much as the manager is passionate and the players are working hard, I’m not sure I trust the people in charge to try and make stuff happen in the summer, to oversee that job. I don’t see them doing it.”
Asked how many new arrivals are needed for Arsenal to get back to competing with the top teams in the Premier League, he said: “Five or six players, easily. With what you’re looking at with the players in there right now.
“For Arsenal to get to a level where we’re a lot better than where we are now – we should be a lot further than that with the players we’ve got – there has to be some unbelievable recruiting to happen.
“That’s not going to be in one summer that’s going to happen. It’s going to be a while to get that level of player for them to start progressing [to] where Arsenal should be.”
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