Throughout his time as Arsenal head coach, Mikel Arteta has been searching for a central midfield. Granit Xhaka was immediately reinstated as the starting option on the left side of a double-pivot, but finding his partner has been more challenging.
Lucas Torreira started there at first, impressing with his aggressive, ankle-snapping style. Matteo Guendouzi was also given a run-out, though his more hair-raising approach to the position that sacrifices positional discipline in favour of high energy does not sit well with Arteta’s more stringent tactical instruction. Finally, on-loan midfielder Dani Ceballos was provided with an opportunity to show what he can do.
In the final three league matches before lockdown - wins against Newcastle, Everton and West Ham - Ceballos seemingly established his grip on the position, producing several encouraging displays as the metronomic creator and controller from deep.
Since the restart, his form has not been quite so encouraging. He was bypassed in the Brighton defeat, did not improve much against Southampton five days later, and was only given another chance because Guendouzi has fallen out of Arteta’s graces.
Nevertheless, in Wednesday’s 4-0 victory over Norwich City in which Arsenal produced their best performance since football’s restart and equalled their biggest win under the new head coach, Arteta returned to the central midfield pairing that he ostensibly settled on before lockdown: Xhaka and Ceballos.
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This time, the duo played in the heart of a 3-4-3 shape with Alexandre Lacazette dropping in from the centre-forward position to provide an extra body in midfield. It worked excellently, especially in the first half, and Ceballos was at the heart of everything positive that Arsenal did.
It started with his conductive play in possession. Growing in confidence with positive early touches, he demanded the ball from the back three and looked to play dynamic, difficult passes into the front players, breaking the Norwich lines and moving the play up the pitch.
Per FBREF and Statsbomb, Ceballos’ 379 progressive yards, that is the total distance his passes travelled towards the opposition goal, ranked second in the Arsenal team for progressive distance. Only David Luiz ranked higher.
To further put that figure into context, Xhaka, who is renowned for his range of passing, produced a total progressive distance of just 194 yards, a little over half of his midfield partner. Both played the full 90 minutes.
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Ceballos’ passing statistics are sensational and they help paint the picture of just how controlling and creative he was from the base of midfield.
His 58 completed passes were the second-highest in the team. He played 11 progressive passes. No other teammate played more than six. He played seven passes into the penalty area. No other teammate played more than two. His seven passes into the final third was also a team-leading figure, tied with Xhaka, while his four shot-creating actions, defined as an action within two actions in the build-up to a shot, also led the team.
Ceballos was at the heart of everything. His 78 touches led the team, as did his 51 carries, travelling a total progressive distance of 182 yards. No other player carried the ball more than 140 progressive yards. He was charted without one miscontrol or dispossession.
It was a true deep-lying playmaker’s performance from a player who was flourishing in the role that Arteta had given him.
During the match, Arteta could be heard shouting, “Dani, espalda!” This translates as “Dani, back!” Ceballos certainly has a Guendouzi-like rawness to his play at times. Such is his energy, he hares after the ball, sometimes neglecting the discipline that is required to play in holding midfield.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta gives instructions to Dani Ceballos
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta gives instructions to Dani Ceballos(Image: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
On this occasion, though, he was more reserved, conservative, deeper in his starting position. This provided him with the time and space to survey the pitch and pick out his passes. It is why he ranks so highly in advanced passes into the final third, penalty area, and progressive balls forward.
But do not think he was lacking in his defensive work-rate, either. The Spaniard was combative and industrious out of possession, too. His 24 pressures ranked second only to Alexandre Lacazette. His four interceptions led the team. He also made two blocks, which ranked joint-third, and one tackle, joint-third also.
Arteta was extremely pleased with the midfielder’s dominating display, praising both his work in and out of possession.
“I really like Dani and what he brings to the team,” he said, speaking to the media in his post-match press conference . “He’s understanding what we’re trying to do really, really nicely and he has big personality to play and take the ball in any area of the field and give us the continuity that we need as a team to control the games better.
“But as well without the ball, the running that he’s putting in, the tackles, every time with the interceptions, his desire to win that ball back and help the team, he’s improved so much and he looks a really good player at the moment.”
Arteta wanted Ceballos to show more control than in previous outings. The on-loan Madrid midfielder is hugely creative. He likes to have regular touches of the ball, to dominate play, and to push into the final third when he gets the chance. Arteta, meanwhile, is attempting to channel those natural creative juices and convert Ceballos into a deep-lying, playmaking orchestrator who carries that added bite and steel that the Arsenal midfield has lacked.
In Wednesday’s win over Norwich, that is precisely the role that Ceballos played. And he played it expertly.
Sourced from London.com
