Real Madrid have been slammed in the Spanish media over the decision to allow Dani Ceballos to leave for Arsenal on loan in the summer.
The 23-year old had a highly impressive summer, playing for Spain in their successful European under-21 campaign in Italy, but, despite that, Zinedine Zidane made it clear that he did not figure in his plans for the season, and he was allowed to depart on loan.
Arsenal duly snapped him up, and he has gone on to have an immediate impact at his new club, providing two Premier League assists in four games, and capturing the imagination of the fans of his new club.
He has also translated that form into the international arena, and was voted man of the match after their win over Romania in their Euro 2020 qualifier last Friday, even drawing comparisons with Andrés Iniesta, the man whose shirt number he wore in Bucharest.
Now well-known Spanish paper Mundo Deportivo has labelled the decision to allow him to leave the Bernabeu as a “flagrant error”
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.