Unai Emery says he will use Dani Ceballos as an "eight and 10" with Arsenal on the brink of securing a loan deal for the Spaniard.
Arsenal are confident that they have all but secured the short-term transfer of the Real Madrid playmaker, who is set to travel to London later this week.
Arsenal have agreed a loan fee with Real Madrid and will pay the entirety of Ceballos' wages, believed to be around £60,000-a-week. There is not expected to be a purchase option in the agreement between the two clubs.
Discussing the signing Emery said: "We were speaking about the possibility to sign one player on loan. We had different names. The club was working on that.
"Ceballos is a very good player. I know him from Betis at the beginning and Real Madrid.
"He played very well in the Under-21s, his national team won the competition. He is one eight and 10 player."
Spain Under-21 international Ceballos did not travel with Real Madrid on their pre-season tour as he was on holiday. That vacation ended on Monday and he is expected to visit Arsenal's London Colney training centre in the coming days for a medical.
Ceballos and Saint-Etienne defender William Saliba are both expected to put the finishing touches on their moves to Arsenal this week, though the latter will return to his current club on loan for next season.
The Gunners remain keen on Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney and hope to recruit a winger, with Wilfried Zaha their top target.
However Crystal Palace's £80m price tag is significantly beyond Arsenal's £45m asking price and so far the Eagles have shown no sign of budging in their demands.
