Apart from two mistakes yesterday, the Arsenal and now Spain under 21 international right back Hector Bellerin put in another great performance for the Gunners. He scored a great goal after bemusing the Liverpool defence and beating Mignolet with a quality curling finish from his wrong foot to add to his debut goal against Aston Villa in February and was heavily involved in our attacking play while doing his defensive duties well.
It really has been a remarkable rise for the young Spaniard, who may well have been facing another loan spell had Arsenal’s injury problems not forced Arsene Wenger to play him. Just like with Francis Coquelin, the just turned 20-year old has grabbed his chance and he has been a big part of the Gunners fightback from a poor start to the season.
His defensive colleague Per Mertesacker heaped praise on him for his latest performance, as reported by Arsenal.com, speaking about the lift the youngster has given to the whole team and how important him stepping up has been.
The German said, “He scored the first goal and that was vital.
“He’s given us a lot of energy this season. He’s stepped up because we’ve had a lot of injuries but he gave us such a great energy and he’s capable of producing great performances like today.”
His manager was equally impressed as well, as another report on the Arsenal website explains, by both key facets of what is expected of a full back in modern football, and that is without even mentioning the fact that Bellerin is like a streak of lightning and beat one of Theo Walcott’s club speed records this year.
Arsene Wenger said, “He’s one of the surprises of the season. He was at Watford on loan last year and didn’t get the games. He’s just 20 years old, if you look at what he does at 20 years of age… He played against a great player today in Sterling in the second half.
“Maybe he still has some experience to gain but defending one against one is good and going forward is good as well. He scored an important goal in a big game and that always shows that the guy has the mental quality to be there.”
The big question now is, does Bellerin have the quality to keep Mathieu Debuchy out of the starting XI as our France international nears match fitness after his unlucky shoulder injury? What do you think Gooners?