Arsenal: Hector Bellerin’s stumbling block identified

Arsenal has been waiting for Hector Bellerin to return to form for quite some time, and they may have finally found his bugaboo weakness.

Few Arsenal youngsters have grabbed the international spectrum quite like Hector Bellerin did when he burst onto the scene for an injured Mathieu Debuchy all those years ago. But after he fell out of favor last season, he has had trouble getting back into the starting XI due to poor form that was tough to attribute to any one thing.

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Bellerin had said that he hasn’t really settled into the wingback role, and after seeing a split, 50/50 difference between him at wingback and him at a regular rightback, it’s easy to see that he was 100% correct, he just hasn’t figured out wingback yet.

Against FC Koln, the entire time was horrid in the first half. The defense especially. There was no width in the wingbacks, as both Hector Bellerin and Ainsley Maitland-Niles were smothered.

Then, at half, as if flicking on a light switch, everything changed. The club reverted to a 4-4-2 and both fullbacks capitalized. Bellerin was a brand new man with room to roam and he even punched home a goal for good measure.

The difference was clear. In the first half, he was alone on that right hand side. Alex Iwobi and Mohamed Elneny provided for no midfield presence and only Theo Walcott was sharing space with the speedy Spaniard, and he has no presence either.

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As such, he was smothered, as he has been before when sharing this side with Mesut Ozil.

When the 4-4-2 was implemented, there was a much bigger midfield presence and an actual right sided midfielder that provided cover for Bellerin to move about more freely, no longer isolated among three opposing shirts.

He looked brand new in the 4-4-2. He even looked faster, which obviously comes down to finally having space. There was so much to be excited about that it may start arising as a rallying cry for Wenger to switch back to the 4-4-2, as it seemed to work wonders on a dull side.

The problem, though, is Mesut Ozil. If anything, it would have to be a 4-2-3-1, but then you relegate Alexis Sanchez or Danny Welbeck to the wings, when they should be playing more centrally.

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It’s a question that needs to be assessed, because this is the Bellerin that you pull out the stops for. And if all that is required is to let him play as a traditional right back, then Wenger should be exploring options to make that happen.