Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin reveals that he left Barcelona for a better chance of making it at “elite” level football after arriving at the club as a 15-year-old, the Spaniard told .
Bellerin has developed wonderfully over the past eight months and is now arguably our first choice right-back, with summer signing Mathieu Debuchy missing much of the campaign through injury.
Since making his first start against Borussia Dortmund in the summer, Bellerin’s progress has been impressive, and he’s produced stunning performances at Monaco, Manchester City and Manchester United.
Whilst on Spanish U-21 duty, Bellerin revealed his reasons behind an early decision to leave his hometown and come to Arsenal.
“I got the chance and I took it”, he told the Spanish publication.
“Wherever you are, you have to work. If I’d stayed at Barcelona, I don’t know if I’d have made it to the elite, you just never know. I’ve worked as hard as I could and always had the mentality of reaching the top.
“Whether I was in one place or another, I’d have done the same.”
Bellerin may have been influenced by players who made the similar journey before; the fact that he also arrived alongside fellow Barca academy product Jon Toral was certainly helpful.
Cesc Fabregas and Fran Merida previously took the decision to leave La Masia in order to take the opportunity at Arsenal and have endured completely different career paths.
It seems as though Bellerin is emulating Fabregas rather than Merida, but we hope he doesn’t follow the former’s footsteps in returning back to Barca and decides to stay at Arsenal for the long-term.
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