Arsenal: Hector Bellerin Barca comments concerning at best

Hector Bellerin has stated of his admiration for new Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde and admitted that his family have moved back to Spain. Such comments are concerning at best for Arsenal and their hopes or retaining their star right-back.

Arsenal have a number of needs that must be addressed this summer if they are to challenge for the Premier League title next season. Investment is required at a number of positions in the squad and Arsene Wenger seems willing to commit to it this summer.

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However, that is without any players leaving the club. If any of the more established members of the squad were also to leave, then further investment would be required to even maintain the same level of performance, nevermind find improvements.

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That is why Hector Bellerin’s recent comments regarding interest from Barcelona are so concerning. He firstly refused to deny that he would want a move back to his former club, before praising new manager Ernesto Valverde, and revealing that his family have now moved back to Barcelona with him staying in London:

"“‘Of course [I have followed his career]! He is a coach whose style will suit Barcelona very well. He had had a very good season with Athletic and I think he will fit in very well at Barca. I have always been very happy [in London], my family settled over there with me, though now for family reasons they have returned to Barcelona. Now I have a harder time, because I am a very family-orientated person. I depend a lot on them, and it will be a challenge being apart from them.”"

As the news continue to trickle out regarding Barcelona’s mused transfer for Bellerin, it is becoming an increasing possibility that he will indeed leave North London. That would be a major shame. A player of his quality and his age, just 22, is a key priority for any team. Losing them is never a sign of progress.

And these comments do suggest that Bellerin is entertaining the idea of returning to the Catalan club. Very much like Cesc Fabregas before him, there seems to be a growing expectation that he will return to Barcelona at some point in his career. The question is seemingly when, not if.

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If Bellerin leaves, then that simply opens up another area of the squad that needs addressing this summer. In recent years, Arsenal have done well in keeping hold of their players, and the strength of their current squad is a symptom of their greater resilience in the transfer market. However, stop being able to prevent sales now, and the same holes are exposed once more.