Arsenal: Hector Bellerin really beginning to impress again

I doubted Hector Bellerin’s quality entering the season. However, three months into the year, the Arsenal right-back is really beginning to impress.

For many Arsenal players, this was a make-or-break season. They were molly-coddled by Arsene Wenger, comfortable in their starting positions and rarely pushed to improve, the ruthless, winning desire had ostensibly seeped away, and their performance levels had diminished. If they were to be successful at the Emirates, they would have to produce this season.

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No one is that more true than for Hector Bellerin. The Spaniard broke onto the scene in a blistering manner. A fresh-faced, leg-whirring 19-year-old who bounded up and down the right flank with great energy and impetus, he and Nacho Monreal formed one of the best full-back partnerships in the Premier League. He was the ideal modern day right-back and looked like he would start for there for the next decade.

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However, since that first season, injuries and a crisis of confidence have scuppered his progress, so much so that when Stephan Lichtsteiner arrived for nothing in the summer, some fans were calling for Bellerin to start the season on the bench. Not only did his development stagnate, he almost regressed. So entering the year at 23 years of age, now no longer being considered a prospective youth talent, Bellerin needed to get back to the lung-busting style of his early days. And that, thankfully, is precisely what he has done.

I was unsure of what to expect from Bellerin at the start of the year. I did not know if he could rediscover the performances of his first full season as the number one right back. But as the campaign has progressed and he has adapted to the style and strategies of Unai Emery, I have become increasingly impressed.

The last two performances, in particular, have been most noticeable. He was rushed back from injury to face Saido Mane and Liverpool. He was excellent. He then played extremely consistently and reliably against Wolves a week later when everything around him was crumbling — it was not his best performance of the year, but he was substantially more productive than his teammates.

What has really impressed me is his improved intelligence off the ball, when attacking and defending, and his speed of distribution. Positionally, he is far more astute than he ever was under Wenger, not simply relying on his speed to bail him out of mental errors, and offensively, he is timing his runs far better than before, not bombing forwards and then just waiting for the ball to come to him, but biding his time, surveying the field, and then taking his opportunity to burst into space — Benjamin Mendy is the only defender with more assists in the Premier League this season.

And his work against the high press has been far improved. He moves the ball with precision and speed, not taking those needless extra touches that slow everything down and allow the opposition to structure themselves. This may seem like a small, almost negligible change to his game, but it has a huge influence on Arsenal’s ability to play out from the back. And it has made a huge difference to Bellerin’s impact on matches also.

Bellerin is a better player now than what he was last season. Is that down to his own personal development? Is that because of Emery’s coaching? Is that thanks to the added motivation now that the Wenger comfort blanket no longer exists? I do not know. But Bellerin is improving, and it is very impressive indeed.