Am I the only one who’s noticed that ceballos seems to have completely changed his game so far this season. I know we’re only 3 games in but I’m seeing him do things I never saw him do last season even in his post-lockdown form. He’s starting to transition from the deep....(1/n)

....Playmaker role that Arteta initially tasked him with performing alongside Xhaka in a double pivot,to almost becoming a complete 8(CM/CAM). What do I mean by all this? Let me demonstrate(2/n)

Against Fulham he started off on the bench and even though Arsenal were 3-0 up,Fulham still looked dangerous and were causing Arsenal trouble. Enter Ceballos and for the remainder of the game, Arsenal have Fulham pinned down in their own half defending for their lives(3/n)

One particular moment that stood out to me in that game was when he was playing so far up the field in the final 3rd,which he barely used to do last season and here he was giving the Fulham defenders headaches and linking up very well with Bellerin to create chances(4/n)

Next up,West Ham where you see him building up play from relatively deep as he normally would but as passes the ball to Saka,he makes a run into the half-space in between the west ham CBs to be on the receiving end of Saka’s pass which he lays off to Nketiah for the goal(5/n)

Lastly,there’s his 30 minute cameo vs Liverpool where he changed the game for Arsenal and gave them many opportunities to equalize the game including giving the line breaking pass to set up laca’s missed chance to equalize one on one with Allison(6/n)

Now I go back to answer the original question of what exactly is a complete 8? For this I’d like to use probably the most complete 8 in the world,KDB,as an example. What does KDB do?(7/n)

1)Create line breaking passes for his team putting them clear on goal using his elite vision and technique
2)Operates in the half-spaces between the CBs and FBs to lay off passes/cross to teammates in the box
3)Have the ability to drop deep and help build-up play when needed(8/n)

Ceballos in these last 3 games has shown his ability to do all 3 of these:
1)Vs Liverpool where created 3 chances for Lacazette,Auba and Nketiah playing them in behind
2)Vs West Ham where he made the run in between the defenders and layed off the ball to Nketiah for the goal(9/n)

2)(Cont.) and Vs Fulham where he linked up well with Bellerin and Pepe to create chances in the final third
3)In every Arsenal game but especially vs Liverpool where he wasn’t only helping Arsenal’s build up play,but also breaking Liverpool’s press using his elite dribbling(10/n)

In conclusion,Is Ceballos a complete 8 rn? No but he does have the potential to be and consequently become the focal point of Arsenal’s creativity. Whilst Aouar would be a crucial signing for Arsenal,easing the burden of the front 3 to score goals and scoring goals himself (11/n)

from midfield,he’s not the type of player to create chances through line breaking passes. Hopefully with the potential addition of Thomas Partey to protect the defense alone,Ceballos could be allowed more freedom to roam forward and be the focal point of Arsenal’s midfield(12/n)