Dani Ceballos will soon be announced as an Arsenal player again after arriving in England to undergo a medical and complete his return to the Gunners.
The Spain international will spend a second successive season on loan with Mikel Arteta’s side having rejected several offers to go elsewhere during the summer.
It is understood that Arsenal will cover all of the 24-year-old’s wages while he is north London and that the deal does not include an obligation to buy at the end of the campaign.
Ceballos has already started his two-week quarantine period and will be available to face West Ham on September 17. It is more likely, however, that his first involvement of the season will come away at Liverpool the following week.
The capture of Ceballos, which could be confirmed before the weekend, will be another huge boost for Arteta, who has already seen Willian and Gabriel arrive to bolster his squad this summer.
Arsenal’s head coach admitted ahead of last weekend’s Community Shield success against Liverpool that he was hoping Ceballos would return for another season.
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“We had some talks,” said Arteta. “Dani knows really well what I think about him. He was pretty clear with me as well that his intention was to remain with us. Obviously, Real Madrid is involved there and I don’t know yet what they want to do with the player.
“He is a player we are interested in because we really saw in the last few months of the season what he is capable of bringing to us.”
Ceballos posted videos of himself on social media watching and celebrating the victory against Liverpool last weekend as he made clear his intentions to return to Emirates Stadium.
The midfielder is keen to ensure he gets regular playing time during the coming season to ensure he stays in contention for the Spain squad ahead of next summer’s European Championship.
At Madrid, that is unlikely, given Zinedine Zidane has rarely used him - but Ceballos made himself a regular at Arsenal during the final months of the season under Arteta, forming an excellent partnership alongside Granit Xhaka in the heart of the midfield.
The Spaniard made 37 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners, scoring twice including the winner in the FA Cup quarter-final against Sheffield United.