Arsenal: Hector Bellerin can take his sweet time coming back

Arsenal’s defense is getting a fresh injection of optimism, and that’s without even considering the pending return of Hector Belleri. Take your time, bro!

There were so many Arsenal storylines to follow against Nottingham Forest. So many, in fact, that even beating a Championship side tasted like a sweet slice of cake. And it was almost entirely thanks to the defense, and the surplus of players returning from injury.

This year, the Gunners have been subjected to very little flexibility on the defense. Sead Kolasinac is the left back because we have no one else. David Luiz and Sokratis have been the centerback duo because Unai Emery won’t start Calum Chambers and Ainsley Maitland-Niles is the rightback because… we have no one else.

But against Nottingham Forest, the back line boasted the likes of Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney, Calum Chambers, and even Hector Bellerin late on in the match.

Of those four, Bellerin is the most experienced, the biggest first-team regular, and the one that should arguably pull the most excitement, yet after seeing the Forest display and hearing that he is the one furthest from being a regular again, everything still feels perfectly fine.

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While Bellerin came on and got an assist mere moments after being introduced, he was secondary compared to the heroics of Calum Chambers, who tripled Bellerin’s assist count, and the complete dominance of Kieran Tierney.

And then there was Rob Holding with his thumping headed goal and a tremendously played defensive match all around.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles is back too and, despite his awful display against Aston Villa that saw him hurt and sent off, there’s no reason to doubt his professional chops as he gets back into regular game time at rightback.

It’s so promising and so exciting that the fact that Bellerin can’t come back right away doesn’t bother me in the least. There’s too much else to watch for, too much else to be excited about. This is a defense that is getting younger and more reliable. Whenever Bellerin does make it back, that’ll be great and exciting in its own right, but there is absolutely no reason to rush it. None at all. I am fine with either Chambers or Maitland-Niles starting at the spot after what they’ve shown, and you should be too.

Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait for Bellerin to come back, but go on and take your time with it. Make sure he’s good and ready.