The Remarkable Rise of Hector Bellerin

Hector Bellerin’s career is on a startlingly steep upward trajectory. In the last two years he has risen from Arsenal’s academy side to become a regular in the first team.

This summer, Bellerin’s extraordinary rise has hit new heights. After being selected in the Professional Footballers’ Association Team of the Year for 2015/16, he has now been named as a late addition to Spain’s Euro 2016 squad. He recently made his full debut for the senior national side, playing 90 minutes in a 3-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The question for Arsenal fans is: Where will Bellerin’s meteoric ascent take him? Will he remain in north London, or is it inevitable that he’ll return to his native Barcelona?

Bellerin has long been thought of a big prospect. Arsenal moved to sign him in the summer of 2011, prising him away from Barcelona’s La Masia academy along with Jon Toral, an equally exciting midfielder of English heritage. 

When Bellerin first arrived, it was as a right-winger. Arsenal’s academy coaches deserve credit for the positional switch that would kick-start his ascension. Within months of arriving in north London, the Spaniard was repurposed as a full-back.

Speaking in 2012, Bellerin cited the change to playing in the back four as one of the reasons he was enjoying life with the Gunners.

The then-17-year-old told Arsenal.com:

It has been really, really great. I’m so happy with the decision I made to come here.

When I was at Barcelona I always used to play on the right wing. But last year I learnt a lot from Steve Bould about how to defend and every day I feel more and more comfortable as a right back.

It gives me a chance to go forward, and I am learning every day about the defensive side – I really enjoy it.

In his time with the academy sides, Bellerin made quite an impression. Mikel Arteta knew as early as 2013 that Arsenal had a prodigiously gifted player on their hands.

In September 2015, he told Arsenal.com: “I knew two years ago that he had the ability to be first choice at Arsenal and I can’t see any better right backs in the next two years in Spain”. It was a bold statement from a man who is not prone to hyperbole.

It was in July 2013 that Bellerin signed his first professional contract with the club. Within two months he had made his competitive debut, replacing Arteta in a Capital One Cup victory over West Bromwich Albion. He only played for a few …

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