Although the emergence and rapid improvement of the young Spanish right back Hector Bellerin for Arsenal this season was one of the major plus points of the season, it did also attract some unwanted attention in our player, most notably from the perennial plunderers Barcelona.
The Gunners have lost plenty of stars to the Catalan club and the fact that Bellerin is from there and spent many years at their La Masia academy before coming to finish his development in the Arsenal academy gave us extra cause for concern when Barca started to mention Bellerin as they began to look for a long term replacement for the Brazil international Dani Alves.
But Arsene Wenger wants the 20/year old to sign a contract extension and Bellerin has revealed why he is perfectly happy to be a Gunner, as an Arsenal.com explains. The right back revealed that the way we play football and Wenger’s reputation for giving young players the chance to shine were two big factors for him and that has certainly been proven to be a great move for him this season.
Bellerin said, “It’s always good fun. You always enjoy yourself playing with these players around you. They’re all top players and it’s really helpful.
“They make you look like you’re a good player as well! It’s really nice to play alongside them and when we play at home with our crowd it’s always a really great feeling.
“The fact that Arsenal plays that kind of football is going to help you. That was really important [in coming to Arsenal] and the fact that Arsenal like to bring young players through.
“We have loads of players in my position. But I think that’s a really positive thing because it makes you train and work harder, which is a good thing for us.
“We have really good players fighting for their spots in every position, so that’s one of the reasons why everyone is performing the way that they are, because it’s bringing out the best in us.”
Until we hear the news that Bellerin has put pen to paper on a new deal, there will be some concern, but with his performances this season having earned a call up to the Spain international side and with the Gunners showing real signs of being able to compete for top honours, it appears that Bellerin will not be going anywhere for a while.