Dani Ceballos should be given the time to prove he is more effective than Mesut Ozil.
When a player, any player, loses form then it is in both his best interest and the club that he is stepped down and another player is given the chance to do a better job.
The problem with that on occasions is what to do when you have no reliable alternative and to some extent that has applied to the Arsenal players that could replace the German midfielder.
There are some younger players in the team, Joe Willock for example that has been tried just behind the strikers but he has not proven to be too much of an upgrade on Ozil. Inexperience, confidence and awareness are contributing factors for sure and hopefully, in time the likes of Willock will show that they have the capability to step up.
In reality, the only player that could step into Ozil’s shoes right now is Dani Ceballos. He has been given a chance I will admit and not quite made the breakthrough we had all hoped for. However, he has shown, both for Arsenal and Spain, that he certainly has the talent to take the “number 10 role”
But some context is required, Ceballos was brought into a team very low in confidence under a manager that basically lost the dressing room and fans. It was always going to be difficult for a newcomer, it is certainly harder than it is for a player already embedded into the squad.
Then injury hit, a new manager comes on board and all of a sudden Ceballos finds himself on the fringes.
Now, he could have left in January but stayed put and has made it clear he wants to fight for a place in the team, that he loves the fans and wants to make his stint at Arsenal a success.
I cannot see how Ceballos would be any worse than Ozil, I mean, he is already on the same goals tally as Ozil, zero and has one more assist than the German having played 525 fewer minutes in the Premier League this season.
Ceballos is eight years younger than Ozil and has yet to reach his peak, whereas Ozil is definitely past his. There is an opportunity here for Arsenal to hold on to a player that could become an Arsenal great, he just needs the opportunity to show us all what he can really do and what he can contribute to this Arsenal team.
Fingers crossed that Mikel Arteta realises this before it is too late.