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Ian Wright has urged Arsenal not to sign Dani Ceballos permanently and doubts the midfielder can do anything to change his mind before the end of the season.

Ceballos has spent the past two seasons on loan at Arsenal from Real Madrid. He helped them win the FA Cup final last season but has struggled for consistency this term. It seems unlikely the Gunners will sign him permanently but Mikel Arteta has delayed a decision until the end of the season.

Arteta has fielded Ceballos on 60 occasions for Arsenal. But one person who does not think they should keep working together is Wright.

The former striker told Premier League Productions (via the Metro): “I don’t think we should be signing Ceballos. I just don’t think he’s what we need now.

“I think that we’ve got young players coming through who should get an opportunity in front of Ceballos.

“If he’s going to do anything to stay at Arsenal it would’ve been seen already by now.”

Conversely, Ceballos’ fellow Real Madrid loanee Martin Odegaard has made a brighter impression since joining in January. As such, Wright wants him to stay – but does not have faith that the club can pull it off.

He added: “Odegaard is somebody who I’d like to see sign. But at the same time the people who are going to oversee who’s coming in and who’s going out are unfortunately the same people who signed someone like Willian for three years.

“Are we going to give those people the power to try to do this overhaul? I don’t trust them. It worries me.

“As much as the manager is passionate and the players are working hard, I’m not sure I trust the people in charge to try and make stuff happen in the summer, to oversee that job. I don’t see them doing it.”

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While he doubts those overseeing the rebuild, Wright knows Arsenal need to make major changes to their squad over the next few transfer windows. Only then will they be able to get back among the top six.

Asked what they need to add, he said: “Five or six players, easily. With what you’re looking at with the players in there right now. For Arsenal to get to a level where we’re a lot better than where we are now, we should be a lot further than that with the players we’ve got, there has to be some unbelievable recruiting to happen.

“That’s not going to be in one summer that’s going to happen. It’s going to be a while to get that level of player for them to start progressing where Arsenal should be.”

Wright wants Willock to stay

Also on the agenda this summer for Arsenal will be deciding what to do with their loaned-out players.

Predicting their futures, Wright said: “You say who’s vulnerable, you look at [Lucas] Torreira and [Matteo] Guendouzi, Joe Willock is doing very well at Newcastle, [William] Saliba’s doing well as well.

“You look at it and you think to yourself those players, every one of them apart from [Konstantinos] Mavropanos who’s not really had a chance [and] Saliba, maybe those players should be where they are.

“I’d like to see Joe Willock get an opportunity but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

READ MORE: Arsenal players deeply ‘concerned’ over Arteta’s backroom team

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