Dani Ceballos has paid a touching tribute to Arsenal legend Jose Antonio Reyes on the first anniversary of the winger's death.
Reyes passed away last year after a high-speed car accident, with the football world coming together to mourn the skilful attacker, who spent three years at Arsenal and was one of the club's Invincibles.
Like Reyes, Ceballos is from the Spanish town of Utrera and the attacking midfielder revealed that his idol was on his mind a lot after moving to the Gunners on loan from Real Madrid last year.
"I joined Arsenal not long after Reyes died," Ceballos said to the Evening Standard. "He was on my mind a lot around that time because I'm sure he would have got in touch to give me recommendations on good stuff to do here in London.
"That was impossible because of his death, which was sad news for the world of football.
"I'm sure he's up there, proud that I'm following in his footsteps. And I'm proud to be following in his footsteps."
Ceballos has been in contact with Reyes' family, revealing that Reyes' father had reached out to him after he joined Arsenal.
He said: "Jose's death was a huge tragedy, not just for me but for the world of football. He was a really important player for Spain and it's a shame that he left us at such a young age.
"Well, the family is trying to come to terms with the tragic death of their son. I spoke to his father and he congratulated me on signing for Arsenal.
"He told me that it was a massive club where his son had come a long way. I feel a lot of affinity with him because I'm from Utrera too and now I've joined Arsenal, just like he did before me.
"Reyes started playing professionally at a very young age - if I remember rightly he was only 16. From there, his career came on in leaps and bounds to the point where he was able to sign for Arsenal.
"He went on to play in European Championships, World Cups... as a player he was an icon, not just for me but for Spanish football as a whole, because he played for the biggest clubs in Spain and won titles everywhere he went.
"Well, aside from the footballing side of things I admired him on a personal level because he was from the same village as me. He was the only elite player we had at the time. He was a really bold player - I remember one match when he was playing for Sevilla against Real Madrid.
"He was up against Roberto Carlos and he looked like he'd be playing at the top level for ten years, but he'd only just made the step up from the yout academy.
"He was definitely one of my idols. It was a proud moment for a player from Utrera to leave Spain and sign for a club like Arsenal, who had top players like Henry, Pires and Ljungberg.
"He joined very young but was able to make big steps forward in his career."
