Kevin Kilbane has claimed that Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin has declined considerably in recent years, but unfortunately the Spaniard is not alone.
Arsene Wenger has always been known for his ability to blood young players into his first-team squad, and has brought through a number of the current squad up through the ranks, but they all appear to be struggling at present.
Alex Iwobi, Francis Coquelin, Bellerin and Jack Wilshere all burst onto the scenes when getting their chance to impress in the Gunners starting line-ups, but Hector is the only one playing week-in week-out.
The Spanish international has now come under criticism for seemingly going on the downturn, and was even dropped to the bench last season after a number of disappointing displays. Kilbane has now stated how surprising his rapid decline has become.
“Hector Bellerin has gone from being one of the best right-backs in football to almost now thinking he’s not good enough to get in the Arsenal side,” Kilbane told Irish radio station Newstalk.
“It’s incredible the decline in Bellerin.”
Francis Coquelin is another who broke into the first-team a few seasons back, and looked like he was going to be the latest player to prove Wenger right for sticking with him for so long, but he is my least favourite central midfielder to start currently.
It isn’t only the players who earned their way through the ranks who are seemingly struggling currently however, with a number of top players also no longer rated so highly.
Laurent Koscielny was arguably the best centre-back in the Premier League a couple of years ago, but would now miss out on most people’s top five. Mesut Ozil arrived as a top player with a wealth of coveted trophies, but he is certainly not worth the amount we paid for him any more.
Ozil clearly retains that ability, but shows it so sparingly that it frustrates, and he is most certainly a luxury to have in the team, but with no contract signed as yet, we may regret underappreciating him in 12 months time.
Is Wenger dragging these players down? Are the players no longer proud to be at Arsenal?
Pat J
Why am I being moderated?
All NEW names get moderated….
I’ve been on this site for years and am still moderated
That’s nothing to do with me. My spam filter must have you down as a troublemaker……..
Wenger has not developed a player in a long time if you ask me. And yes Bellerin has not developed either. Makes me worry about the future of Nelson.
Look at Gnabry, he left after Wenger messed him up, now he is at Bayern
Look at chamberlain
Look at campbell
Look at vela
Look at arshavin
Look at wyltford
Look at reyes
Look at eduardo
Look at ……………………..
Frank deboer is free, lets get him.
what i cant understand Wenger used to bring through the younger players now thats changed. Nelson should be used sparringly but at any opertunity
No, the players are down because they have to hear constant abuse from a very loud minority of the crapiest ‘fans’ in the PL.
How can you blame the fans they/ we have been so patient for so long it’s been almost decade and a half since we were a threat of a team, for god sake spuds have leapfrogged us and as soon as they finish their stadium they will stay there and we will be in their shadow for decades,
don’t you get it we made a profit this window where other teams are under investigation for over spending, we have been told by the management that we can compete with any team in Europe not so long ago unless you don’t care to win a major trophy then something wrong in your thinking?
Pff I understand the pessimistic train of thought but we will definitely be above spuds this season. They will fail miserably at Wembley and a new stadium is not always what you hope it will bring..
A new stadium will bring in extra cash which spuds will use to beter themselves unlike Arsenal who are making a profit from sale of players on top of annual profits
@dutchy, I do belive we have great players but non of them firing on all four cylinders not one and why is that? On the day we can beat any top five teams in the EPL but only two games out of ten
What Dom states is true. Insults can greatly affect the psych of an individual especially if he is young. Some players may become nervous especially when playing at home. Perhaps some players have been dilly dallying on signing new contracts because of these insults. Nobody wants to work in a hostile atmosphere. Of late the insults and vulgar language among a section of our supposed fans have reached an unprecedented and undesirable level. It is not clear why this is the case. Is it the influence of a multi cultural society that is a hall mark of a big city like London? But then the fans of other London clubs do not behave outrageously. What is the problem then? Could it be that some fans of other clubs join hands with our ignorant fans to bring down the Club? We should not underrate the invisible hand of the enemy in these activities. Some naive individuals may think they are fighting Kroenke, Wenger, Gazidis and the board when in reality they are busy facilitating the enemies of Arsenal to destroy the Club. We need to beware of inadvertently aiding our enemies! The relentless anti-Wenger campaign might have more ulterior motives than trying to improve the Club. So true Arsenal supporters need to put an end to these ghastly acts by vehemently standing up against them.
My friend the only person destroying the club is Wenger with his insistence he is here to stay. The majority of the fans want him gone, and yes now it will remain toxic until he leaves. But he can change the atmosphere at the club in a jiffy if he just leaves. In fact, if he had not been so deluded he would have realized the perfect time for him to leave was right after any of the last 3 FA cup finals.
Instead, he comes out saying Ramsey and Ox are the future of the club, we have the squad to win the PL this season and he is here to stay.
Fans drive sport, no fans, no money, it is easier to change the manager than the fans so he should be pragmatic and leave even if he thought in his mind he won us a PL last season or anytime in the last 10 years, even if he believes he will win a PL this season. he should go he had more than enough time and money to show he has not lost it and now he is destroying our club.
Good players don’t suddenly fall into decline least of all because kevin kilbane has had a say so. where any of the three, Bell, Koscielny, Ozil, to be placed on the transfer market all three would command a good price, as well as continue to generate interest.
Bellerin is only 22 hence diatribe about his decline is pathetic,
Kos played for france team that humbled england and the team that beat the dutch 4-nil at the end of august gone, so talk of his decline is more nonsense.
Ozil is playing well for his national side, on his day he’s formidable and at 28 its evident he’s nowhere near being in decline. You sir/madame (Pat J) can be accused of taking arsenal fans for idiots for that nonsense suggestion is fiercely rebutted.
To be fair they’ve all declined at club level, although I agree with you that at International level they’re still quality players.
It’s not surprising to see why they all struggle at Arsenal. They get played in the wrong positions, some have to play in a system that doesn’t suit them, and there seems to be no individual tactics given to the players, and little to no team tactics either. Not mention Wenger’s lack of motivational skills. I worry for players like Nelson coming through. I just don’t want Wenger to get his hands on him.
@ThirdManJW – we are in a terrible state on so many levels – but the argument posed as it stands has no credibility the facts speak for themselves though others wittingly or unwittingly go along with it i wont.
…by the by @ThirdManJW the thumbs down against you ain’t mine. i appreciated your comment, thanks.
I definitely think Bellrin has declined or at a minimum has not developed consistent with his age category. Younger players develop quicker than mature players. We can try to point at reasons like his injury or the change of system but IMO fact remains he is not where I thought he would be after his first season.
What do u expect when we have the most patheticc fans in d history of football,all they know is to insult every player that wears d shirt,no English winger presently has scored more goals than Walcott yet he’s always an idiot,their latest target now is xhaka,soon will stop being adventurous to avoid mistakes and start playing side ways and back passes bcos of fans abuse,giroud donkey,ozil has more assists,hss created more Chances,has made completed more passes in d final 3rd,has made more successful crosses than any other player in d league since he came to arsenal, yet they will always call him lazy,its ridiculous we v decended to this sorry state,no player will flourish in a hostile environment like ours,
“It’s incredible the decline of Bellerin”
Seriously? Where the hell do these pundits come from? It’s not like Bellerin has gone from being a superstar to a dud. There is nothing incredible about a 22 year old having some ups and downs when coming back from injury and learning a new position. For crissakes Kilbane, enough with the hyperbole.
Decline, decline! The club and players have been on a down hill spiral for the last 8 years +. Weegor has destroyed the club. I wish he would just leave.
Seariosly, Kevin bloody Kilblane!
This article writer must spend his time trawling the internet looking for dirt to dish.
When van Persie said f°ck you, goodbye, the team we were left with was really crap. I mean seriously, if we had those players now, we would be 8th at the end of the season. We only made the top 4 because other squads didn’t have the quality they have now. A lot of players mentioned in this article were made by AFC and yes, there not all quality from the get go
Yes I agree so many players declined under Wenger, maybe his philosophy and lack of winning mentality that makes most arsenal players soft and weak enough to maintain their forms. Gunners forever!!!!!!