Unai Emery Praises Dani Ceballos Ahead of Reported Arsenal Loan Move

Unai Emery has said Real Madrid's Dani Ceballos is "a very good player" and hailed his versatility ahead of his reported loan move to Arsenal. 

According to BBC Sport's David Ornstein, the Gunners have reached an agreement to sign Ceballos, who was also linked to Tottenham Hotspur, for the 2019-20 campaign.

The Real midfielder played a key role for Spain earlier this summer as they won the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. 

Ceballos was playing at Real Betis when Emery was in charge of Sevilla between 2013 and 2016, and the Gunners boss said he has been impressed with the 22-year-old, per Reuters (h/t ESPN FC):

"We are speaking about the possibility to sign one player. We have different names and the club is working on that. Ceballos is a very good player. I know him from [Real] Betis at the beginning and Real Madrid. He played very well in the under-21s [for Spain], his national team won the [2019 European Championship] competition. He can play as a No. 8 or a No. 10."

Arsenal have yet to make any key additions to their squad this summer. 

They need to bolster their midfield having lost Aaron Ramsey to Juventus on a free transfer, and Ceballos could be an astute signing.

He joined Real from Betis for €18 million in 2017, but he has been unable to nail down a regular starting spot.

Of the 35 La Liga appearances Ceballos has made for Los Blancos, 18 of them have come from the bench.

Given his obvious ability, he would command a starting spot at a number of other top clubs, and certainly at the Emirates Stadium.

Ceballos has a number of strings to his bow, including a fine passing range, defensive acumen, and great ability on the ball, while he can also produce moments of magic:

As such, Real are unlikely to be open to letting him go permanently, but a loan deal could be beneficial for all involved.

Arsenal are on a tight transfer budget this summer. Per Sam Dean of the Telegraph, they have only around £45 million to spend.

Ceballos, meanwhile, would surely relish the opportunity to earn more first-team minutes at Arsenal.