Arsenal: Hector Bellerin Must Show Form Isn’t Permanent

Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin has been struggling through poor form for some time now. Arsene Wenger has stated he has been hampered by an ankle injury. He must now prove that is the case.

Form is temporary; class is permanent. That is how the old saying goes and it certainly has an element of truth to it. What separates the good from the great players is little more than sheer consistency. Theo Walcott can score incredible goals, skipping by two or three defenders before firing a shot in the bottom corner. Alexis Sanchez can do it on a game-by-game basis. That is the difference between the two Arsenal wide men.

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More than just consistency from game to game, there is an element of needing to be near the top of your game over extended periods of time. Someone who is failing to do so currently is Hector Bellerin.

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The Spaniard has undoubtedly struggled of late, especially against the pacier, more physically imposing wingers. And I have maintained that he is feeling the effects of an ailing ankle injury that saw him miss time earlier in the season. That is a sentiment that Arsene Wenger agrees with. When asked about Bellerin in his pre-match press conference ahead of the crucial trip to Middlesbrough, Wenger admitted that he is struggling from a run of poor form but also revealed that he is playing through pain:

"“He has not come back to his level since he has been injured. I think for a while he was [still feeling pain], yes. Then you get bad habits and you forget that your job first is to defend and win challenges because you protect yourself a little bit. Then you realise you have to come back and I think now he is trying to focus again on what is important, to defend well and afterwards he can give us that extra bit that is important as well.”"

Only Bellerin will know whether he is underperforming as a result of injury, a crisis of confidence or over-achieving earlier in his career, leading to unreachable expectations from the fanbase and the management. While the former two are concerning and need to be addressed, the latter would be far more worrying.

Is there a chance that the Bellerin of the last few months is the normal Bellerin and the Bellerin of last season, bombing up and down the right flank relentlessly, was an anomaly, a streak of purple form which will be difficult to replicate in the future?

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It is now down to Bellerin to prove that he is more than a good player who will enjoy runs of searing form here and there. He must show his class, class that is permanent, and play at a consistently high level.