Snarling, yappy irritant Dani Ceballos is just what Arsenal need

The on-loan Real Madrid man arrived in England with a reputation for flair and finesse but has added a new intensity to midfield

EMIRATES STADIUM — Arsenal just about escaped the shadow of another Mesut Özil controversy on Sunday, ending their week with a one-goal win over Bournemouth.

Özil was left out of Unai Emery’s squad entirely, with his advanced midfield role being given instead to the on-loan Dani Ceballos.

It was a decision vindicated. Arsenal were acceptable rather than convincing and they fell away dramatically as the game grew older, but Ceballos helped them find an initial tone which was good enough for all three points.

Ceballos plays angrily. He arrived in England with a reputation for flair and finesse and while he is as advertised, that’s only a partial portrayal. It ignores the intensity in his game, the focus. Even the belligerence.

Those were important qualities for Arsenal; they weren’t supplied by anybody else. Their midfield has been under repair for some time, but its current issue is its lack of function. In Ceballos , though, it now has a player aching for involvement in every phase of the game.

That shows in his twitching menace. With the ball at his feet he glides, he slaloms between defenders and he shimmers all the usual Iberian elegance. In pursuit of possession, though, he is the sort of yappy irritant which hasn’t been associated with his side for a very long time.

He set his own tone early on by clattering through Callum Wilson. He skittled the forward, spilling him across the grass, and was then up in the referee’s face, jabbing his fingers and snarling.

That’s how Ceballos plays. He ended the first-half with a beautiful flourish, beating Philip Billing like light passing through glass, but spent most of that 45 minutes ratcheting his side’s intensity.

He seized loose balls and his passes pushed teammates deep into Bournemouth’s final third. It was an ideal blend for as long as it lasted.

It wasn’t a coincidence that their became less sure after Ceballos had been substituted. He’s yet to adapt to English football’s attrition and, after 75 minutes, left the field to be replaced by Joe Willock.

What is it that he brings? Maybe it’s as simple as that right attitude. A few of his teammates are good at making angry faces and bad tackles, but Ceballos has greater substance.

It’s good for now, but worrying for the future. At season’s end, Real Madrid are unlikely to even entertain a permanent transfer, meaning that whatever else Arsenal do next summer, they’ll need to source these same ingredients from somewhere else.