Hector Bellerin is one of the brightest talents to be on Arsenal’s books right now and he has certainly been one of the better players to have made it from our youth side during Arsene Wenger’s reign.
Now Bellerin of course isn’t Arsenal by blood. He was like a few before him, a product of FC Barcelona, before Wenger brought the player to North London. Bellerin followed in the footsteps of Fabregas and Merida and of course also came with Jon Toral at the same time as his own transfer. There have always been rumours that the player is wanted back by the Spanish giants, but Arsenal have managed to hold off every effort for the player so far!
Barcelona have reportedly been in contact with Arsenal ever since the youngster made the breakthrough a few seasons back. Knowing that regular right back Dani Alves was soon on his way out, they wanted to replace the Brazilian with a player that like Alves, could play the position uncontested for a number of years. Bellerin fit the bill but never returned to Barca; stating that it’s Arsenal whom he holds a loyalty to now, not Barcelona. However, now that Alves has left the club and Barcelona are still on the hunt for a comfortable right back, how does that change things?
Bellerin has stated in the past that although he always dreamed of playing for Barca as a youth, Arsenal gave him the chance to become a professional. As a result he holds a lot of love and loyalty for both Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. Bellerin signed a new contract just last year and he again stated that he was committed to the club. However the Guardian is reporting today that Barcelona remain interested in the Spaniard and now that Wenger may be on his way out, then perhaps Bellerin will also choose to leave the Emirates.
Every time that Bellerin has stated his commitment to the club, I’ve been sure that he is being genuine. You can see how much of a fan of Arsenal he has grown to become and that he holds hope to simply win titles with Arsenal. I understand that he feels loyalty to Arsene Wenger for giving him his chance. But he wouldn’t hold such a devotion, that when Wenger’s does leave, it would mean that Bellerin would consider Barcelona.
This is because by that logic, Bellerin is never going to stick around forever, with Wenger bound to leave at some point of the Spaniard’s career, even if it’s not necessarily this summer.
By AH