Arsenal: What’s happened to Hector Bellerin?

Hector Bellerin’s form is a cause for concern for all Arsenal fans. Can Unai Emery get the best out of him and how long will it take?

Hector Bellerin used to be my favorite player as I could relate to him on almost every level. He’s only one year older than me and is an outgoing, fashionable and cool guy. In my opinion, he was the type of player that could have been an outstanding role model to the new generation of Arsenal fans. However, time has changed and it seems that Bellerin might now be a hindrance to the Gunners, instead of a help.

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I remember how happy I felt when Bellerin scored his first goal against Aston Villa. The team played excellently and Bellerin’s goal was the cherry on top of the cake. It seemed that Arsene Wenger had uncovered another gem from the academy while also filling a position that had needed properly replacing since the departure of Bacary Sagna.

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Bellerin played consistently well throughout the next season and a half and was a staple of the backline, establishing himself as one of the first names on the team sheet. For many fans, he was a shining light and a symbol of hope for the future. While being young, energetic and lightning quick, Bellerin also seemed to have a decent ability to defend, as well as also grabbing the odd goal and assist now and again.

With a clear love for the club and a willingness to the work amazingly hard, Bellerin, in my opinion, was on track to becoming an Arsenal legend and a world-class full back capable of holding down the best of wingers and attacking with pace and menace, adding width and the youthful spark that was missing from a team that involved older pros such as Santi Cazorla, Petr Cech and Per Mertesacker. So, after such a bright and brilliant start to his carrier, where did it all go wrong for Hector?

During his later years, Wenger seemed to have a flaw: the young players he brought on and developed seemed to hit a wall after a certain amount of time. Jack Wilshere was lost consistently to injuries and never seemed to kick on; Calum Chambers was never really given a chance to start on a regular basis; Alex Iwobi failed to carry on the form that got him into the first team; Rob Holding was so inconsistent, fluctuating in his performance level drastically. It should be no surprise, then, to see Bellerin fall down the same route.

Bellerin’s problem was that he never pushed on. In fact, he seems to have regressed. In the past 18 months, his final deliveries have been woeful, consistently not finding a man or being blazed over everyone. His pace, once a powerful aspect of his game, has ostensibly disappeared with players such as Alvaro Morata and Marcos Alonso seeming quicker, and he has simply failed to grow as a player. It is leading to my personal frustration.

Why has this happened? Why has one of the best young players Arsenal have produced in the last eight years done nothing to enhance his career or raise his game? By this point, I expected Bellerin to be a leader, a front-runner for captaincy. He clearly loves the club and wants to play for Arsenal, but his performances have been lacklustre, to say the least.

Unai Emery has a big job to do. He has to improve an entire defensive backline that is beyond shaky at the best of times. Emery has at least tried to make differences to the team with the signing of Sokratis Papastathopoulos. But maybe the person that will help Bellerin the most is Stephan Lichtsteiner.

As an experienced full back who has won every seven successive Serie A titles, Lichtsteiner will finally provide Bellerin with adequate competition and allow a full learning experience in the process. No longer will Bellerin have a backup, or lack of a backup, in Carl Jenkinson. He will always have to be on his toes as his position in the team is no longer permanently guaranteed.

The signing of Lichtsteiner will also help to give Bellerin a break. Due to the lack of an adequate deputy, the young, Spanish full back was never allowed proper time to recover in between games and burnout could be a genuine reason for his drop in form — he played through an ankle injury two years ago and last season featured in over 3000 minutes of league football alone.

Whatever the reason, however, Bellerin must improve or Emery will have a tough choice to make. Will he spend the time to help improve Bellerin or should Arsenal just cut their losses and buy someone who consistently performs and rarely makes mistakes? Ultimately, the choice rests on Bellerin. He has stood still and failed to progress as a player. This could either be his season to truly become the player many believe he can be or he can continue to stagnate and hit the wall like every young Arsenal player seems to do.

The choice is Bellerin’s and it will be really interesting to see, in ten years’ time, if he will wear the captain’s armband for Arsenal, or be another player full of promise and wasted potential.