Arsenal vs Stoke City: Hector Bellerin on the chopping block

Arsenal’s wingback situation is remarkably competitive, so against Stoke City, it will be Hector Bellerin whose head is on the chopping block.

I never expected Arsenal’s wingback situation to get so competitive. Go figure that the best way to emphasize the speed and athleticism of this team was to allow that speed and athleticism the space to be speedy and athletic.

It’s pretty innovative.

Between Sead Kolasinac, Hector Bellerin and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, I have no qualms making the claim that the Gunners have one of the best collection of available wingbacks in the whole of the footballing world.

That said, each player in that trio is constantly under pressure to perform at their best because, if they don’t they will be replaced. And against Leicester City, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was superb. He completed eight successful dribbles, only lost the ball once, and turned himself into a menace.

And the best part is it wasn’t even the best that we’ve seen him. He has had matches where he was much better and much more dynamic in the attack.

Sead Kolasinac was a superb wingback against Leicester City and he wasn’t even deployed as a wingback. But as defender start filtering back from extended summers, injuries and suspensions, he will have to be used out wide because we simply can’t be without him.

Meaning that Hector Bellerin is the odd ball out. He was not detrimental to the Gunners efforts on matchday one, but he certainly wasn’t an asset either. What he provided can be improved upon by the other two available wingbacks.

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I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, he looked almost rigid, like he needed more time time to reach full match fitness.

There were matches when the 3-4-2-1 was implemented last year that the wingbacks controlled the match. Their ability to tirelessly charge up and down the pitch was the difference maker, so when any wingback isn’t having that same level of impact, it shows. And that was the case for Bellerin.

Wenger has shown tremendous patience in the past with guys like Alex Iwobi, but he has also shown a quick hook if something isn’t going right. It remains to be seen what sort of policy he will enact with Bellerin, but I have trouble believing that if the Spaniard has a repeat performance, that he will simply be given another chance in light of a better option.

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I don’t even think Bellerin should be starting against Stoke, but chances are he will be, and Wenger will find some way to finagle all three of the wingbacks into the starting XI. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as Bellerin may have the match of his life, knowing that he needs to prove something.