Dani Ceballos has lifted the lid on his injury issues at Arsenal and hailed manager Mikel Arteta as a perfect fit for the club.
Ceballos’ bright start to life with the Gunners was halted in November when he picked an Achilles injury playing against Guimaraes in the Europa League.
Before that the Spaniard had been a regular under Unai Emery - who personally visited him in the summer to convince him to join Arsenal - and Ceballos admits this time out has been the toughest of his career.
However, the midfielder is now ready to fight for his place in the Arsenal team and prove to Arteta he deserves to play.
“The injury affected my tendon and the doctors told me that it was not common and that I had to be quite careful,” Ceballos told Marca.
“I have been taking it little by little because I was afraid of relapsing. I think it originally happened due to an excess of matches.
“Sometimes you have to learn from mistakes. It cost me an injury, but you learn everything.
“I was annoyed on my part because I had never been injured and unfortunately I was injured in a situation where the team began to fade a bit.
“Since I came back I have been working with Mikel just two weeks and now is when I have to show him that I am fit to play in Arsenal. After the winter break I will be important.
“Mikel is going to be a great coach. He has learned from Pep [Guardiola], he has a game philosophy that I think fits perfectly in what he asks for his team.
“Yes, it is true that he has arrived in a difficult situation for the club but mentally he is a coach that I think Arsenal need right now.”
