According to AS, Unai Emery has convinced Dani Ceballos to join Arsenal ahead of Tottenham and Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane could sign-off the loan deal today.

Emery is keen to strengthen his squad this summer but we’ve so far been frustrated in our attempts to land any key targets with the club failing to agree terms for the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Kieran Tierney or William Saliba.

However, the Arsenal boss is also in the market for a central midfielder after Aaron Ramsey joined Juventus on a free transfer and Ceballos has been identified as a potential short-term replacement for the Welshman.

Marca reported last week that Arsenal were in pole position ahead of Tottenham to sign the Spanish U21 international and now AS claim Ceballos is ‘very close’ to securing a move to the Emirates.

The Spanish publication says Emery has played a key role in convincing the 22-year-old to snub Tottenham and join Arsenal on what will be an initial season long loan deal.

Real Madrid are reluctant to sell Ceballos on a permanent basis after he starred for Spain en route to them winning the U21 European Championships this summer so they only want to let him leave on loan.

AS suggest the deal with Arsenal could be signed off today as long as Zidane gives it the go-ahead after returning to their pre-season tour following the death of his brother.

Ceballos is due to return to pre-season training on July 22nd but his future is expected to be resolved by that point and it looks like he may even be an Arsenal player over the coming days.

If we could sign Ceballos, even on loan, it would be an excellent piece of business as he’s a hugely talented midfielder. The youngster hasn’t been given the chance to fulfill his potential at Madrid as he can’t force his way into their first team but I can see him starring for Arsenal if he’s given a more predominant role by Emery.