All the fuss about Hector Bellerin
It would have been near impossible for anyone outside Barcelona or young talent scouting network to know who Hector Bellerin was before he joined Arsenal in 2011 just before we sold Cesc Frabregas but the noise made by the fans of the Catalan Club when Arsenal signed him ensured we all had to pay more attention to find out who the player really was.
Since he joined, for followers of the youth system it would not be a surprise that a lot of people are seeing what a talent he is now. As right back for the U21, Hector is arguably one of the best and most improved players in that team. Forwards usually get all the acclaim but Hector is spoken about in same bracket as Serge Gnabry and Chuba Akpom. He has shown enough brilliance in U21 games and the Next Gen competition to ensure he broke into the first team with a Capital One cup appearance against West Brom last season.
With Bacary Sagna departing the Club, it was rumoured Hector was going to be given some playing time with the First Team and the departure of Carl Jenkinson to West Ham on loan has ensured that would be a huge possibility. It seems Wenger is keeping his word to Bellerin as you can tell from the excerpt below
‘I was at home and my father called me to say Arsenal had been on the phone. ‘We decided to go there to see how things are. I hadn’t made up my mind because I’d been at Barcelona all my life so it was very difficult.
‘But after evaluating things I decided to join Arsenal. When you want to be a professional you have to look to make your way. And I believe the right path for me was to choose Arsenal.
‘We met Mr Wenger and it went so well. It was all too much for me but I paid full attention to everything he said. When there is a team that guarantees you can play in the first team and above all in the Premier League, then it is very difficult to say no. ‘Mr Wenger was explaining to me how the club was and the project they had prepared for me and above all he wanted to get to know me.’
Bellerin, speaking to Spanish Press before joining Arsenal
It is interesting to see that a player with such talent can join Arsenal on the back of Wenger wanting to know him. Working with young players has already been a Wenger trademark and hence it makes it easier for players to trust him with their future and what a future Bellerin has in front of him now.
Bellerin still has work to do on the defensive aspects of his game, that would not be strange considering he is yet just still 19 and learning the tricks of his profession. He is more astute going forward and he must have picked it up from his early days at Barcelona where he thrived as a right winger. The Arsenal faithful love their players, but their always is a special kind of affection with young talented players and Bellerin seems to be the recipient of that love now. Hopefully for his own development and that of the club it would be mutually beneficial to ensure this new found love continues to blossom.
