Mikel Arteta Confident Players Still Want to Join Arsenal Despite Hard Times

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has insisted that players will still want to join Arsenal, despite their disappointing form in the last few seasons.

The Gunners currently find themselves down in tenth in the Premier League table and will struggle to achieve European qualification through the league – but they did give themselves a chance of Europa League football when they reached the FA Cup final on Saturday thanks to a 2-0 victory over Manchester City.

There's no denying that missing out on even reaching the Europa League will damage Arsenal's reputation around Europe, but Arteta has insisted (via The Guardian) that any player who cares about that should not be on Arsenal's target list anyway.

“I don’t think we should bring players that need a lot of convincing,” he said. “The feeling I get when I talk to a lot of people is that the players still want to come to the club because of the history, the way we do things, our values, the fans we have, our stadium. That’s a really attractive thing, that’s my feeling.”

For Arteta, the goal is to try and close the gap to the top of the Premier League on a limited budget. He has already voiced his concerns over a potential lack of transfer funds, with free transfers and loan moves expected to be Arsenal's preferred tactic unless money can be raised through player sales.

One player who could be brought back on loan is midfielder Dani Ceballos. According to El Confidencial, the Spaniard has accepted that he has no future under Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid, so he is ready to plead with president Florentino Pérez to agree to another one-year loan at the Emirates Stadium.

Real would prefer an immediate sale as they look to cope with the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak, but it is said that they may agree to a loan with an option to buy, which would likely stand at somewhere close to the €20m (£18m) mark.

Ceballos began the season unconvinced that Arsenal would be right for him, but after a tricky start, Arteta's faith in the 23-year-old has paid off. He has started ten of Arsenal's last 11 Premier League games and also impressed in the cup semi-final triumph over City.

Alongside addressing Ceballos' future, Arsenal have also been linked with moves for Atlético Madrid's Thomas Partey and former Nice defender Malang Sarr.

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