At this football club, there is often a certain ora circulating the development of players from our academy.
Arsene Wenger has not only brought a new playing style to this football club, he has also brought a sense of ethic, by utilising the use of the famous Arsenal academy.
And the latest youngster to be put in the limelight is Hector Bellerin, a player who may just have surprised us all.
The Spaniard has shone since being called up to the first team, following in the footsteps of Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere and Ashley Cole, who came through the ranks after playing with the likes of our Under 21’s.
Bellerin may not have received the same commotion when he joined the Gunners from the Barcelona academy, but that hasn’t stopped him making his mark in the first team.
The right-back recently turned 20, and after linking up with the Gunners academy back in 2011, has burst onto the scene this season.
A surprise candidate to open the scoring on Saturday afternoon, Bellerin now has 2 goals to boast along with a stunning set of performances against some of the big boys, including his display at Old Trafford in the FA Cup a short time ago.
But when it comes to his future, many pundits and players have had their say on the youngster. Bellerin originally stepped in to replace first choice right-back, Matthieu Debuchy, who will return soon giving Arsene Wenger a huge selection headache.
You can also consider the likes of Callum Chambers and even Carl Jenkinson, who will return from his loan period in the summer.
Bellerin certainly outweighs a lot of those options in some way or another, but what he lacks is the maturity and knowledge of a defensive defender.
Sounds a bit stupid doesn’t it, but when it comes to defending, Bellerin struggles with getting his positioning in the right place at the right time. He is easily sucked in to the middle of defence, leaving the oppositions left winger to roam free for 90 minutes.
Secondly, Bellerin isn’t the powerhouse defender you’re afraid of when attacking down the right, players will always have a go at him, and although his pace can keep up with most of them, he doesn’t have the knowledge to make the right tackle, well enough.
Take this weekend for example, he was having a cracking game, already notched himself a goal and then goes and gives away a silly penalty whilst we’re 3-0 up.
Many people forget things like this because we all want to remember the four magnificent goals we scored against Liverpool.
However, let’s not get too hasty when it comes to criticising the young defender, because what he’s already done is better than we could’ve asked for.
This is a player who has been asked to come in suddenly, as our third choice right back and play back to back games against the likes of Monaco, Borussia Dortmund and a handful of the big boys in the Premier League.
At just 20 years old, he’s now scaring Debuchy out of a returning place, and keeping a well matured Chambers out of the team as well.
He hasn’t had a single player on the right hand side who has stayed there for more than two games, so he’s already showed his versatility when playing down the right hand side.
One of those players is sometimes Theo Walcott, who has already had his 40m sprint record beaten by Bellerin, so the Spaniard is making an impact off the pitch as well.
When it comes down to it, Bellerin will put the team before himself, so that means if he is required to sit out for a game, he won’t squabble or moan, he just gets on with it.
His attacking abilities are what will make him such a good player for this Arsenal side, and you can see a resemblance to Branislav Ivanovic, who loves to get forward and cause trouble.
If we hold on to both Bellerin and Francis Coquelin, then we could be looking at a perfect combination. Coquelin doesn’t mind holding back and covering, which allows Bellerin to push forward and worry less about tracking back.
If we are going to see Bellerin do really well, then he has to show he is good enough in the end of this season, which will only give Wenger the problem of choosing his best man to start the 2015/16 season (not exactly the worst problem to have)
For now though it doesn’t look like the Spaniard is going anywhere. Speaking in a recent interview, Bellerin stated that he feels like part of the Gunners family now, after players in the first team welcomed him with open arms.
You have to give a player like his a bit of time, because if you over-hype a player of his ability, you suddenly begin to look past the consistency.