DANI CEBALLOS could be forced to stay at Arsenal as Real Madrid have refused to loan him to Valencia for the rest of the season, it has been claimed.
The Spanish midfielder has had a nightmare with the Gunners after he was ruled out for two months with a muscle injury in November.
Ceballos made an immediate impact at the start of this season under previous Arsenal boss Unai Emery.
But the injury forced him to return to the Spanish capital for treatment.
Since his return to England he has not been able to force his way back into Mikel Arteta’s plans with his fellow Spaniard preferring Granit Xhaka, Mesut Ozil and Lucas Torreira in midfield.
Valencia moved to take the 23-year-old on loan from Real Madrid for the rest of the season.
But Los Blancos have dug their heels in and refused to loan him to a LaLiga and Champions League rivals, according to Marca.
Ceballos is desperate for first team minutes in the second-half of the season as he tries to work his way into Luis Enrique’s Euro 2020 squad.
Despite his apparent lack of opportunities in North London, Arteta recently said he wants Ceballos to fight for his place.
He said: “I had a conversation with Dani.
“When I joined the club he wasn’t here, he was in Madrid because he was doing his rehab for over a month with the team that owns him.
“When I came here he was doing his rehab in the first two or three weeks, getting back to fitness, and I haven’t seen much of him because he only trained with us for a week or ten days.
“It’s very early to assess what I can or cannot do with him.
“I heard about all those things but I have nothing to comment.”
