Unai Emery has hailed Dani Ceballos’ mental strength after the midfielder took a bad kick to the ankle that left Emery thinking it was broken.

Speaking to the press ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League bow on Sunday afternoon against Newcastle at St James’ Park, the Arsenal head coach said, “Ceballos’ mind is very strong.

“His mentality. Last Sunday, when he received a big kick on his ankle [against Barcelona] I thought ‘oh, it’s broken’.

“But after, on Monday, he was training – (he said) ‘I’m fine and want to train’. He is showing us every day his ambition, his hunger is big. I think we need players like this.”

Speaking after the Barcelona game, Emery had indicated that Ceballos would miss at least a few days’ training but he did not.

The 23-year-old signed from Real Madrid on a season-long loan, with no obligation to buy, and could make his first competitive start for Arsenal against The Magpies.

Ceballos played just 43 minutes for Arsenal in pre-season across two games (Barcelona (22′, Lyon 21′).