Although heavily praised throughout the 2014/15 season, in my opinion, Hector Bellerin never received the credit he deserved for rejuvenating Arsenal’s playing style.
2014 marked the end of an era for The Gunners. Bacary Sagna, a seven year Arsenal veteran, announced his transfer to Manchester City after lifting his first and last trophy with the club he moved from Auxerre to in 2007. Despite his merry farewell, the Frenchman had endured a tough and gruelling season leading up to his departure, with injuries and age impeding his attacking play style – forcing him to drop deeper in games and take fewer offensive risks.
It was around this time that Arsenal started to suffer from a lack of pace upfront. Arsene Wenger’s tendency to deploy attacking midfielders, rather than wingers, out wide had started to restrict his side’s overall movement and attacking intensity. Our width started to diminish, and we often struggled to pull defenders out of position when our opposition parked the bus.
Wenger signed Mathieu Debuchy from Newcastle United as Sagna’s replacement for Arsenal’s 2014/15 campaign. An experienced and battle hardened defender, the 29-year-old was quick to win over the Arsenal faithful with a series of strong displays, starting with Arsenal’s 3-0 demolition of Manchester City in the Community Shield, and continuing into their Premier League matches. However, the Frenchman’s direct build-up play sometimes felt out of place in Arsenal’s elegant attacking moves, and a succession of unfortunate injuries forced Mathieu onto the treatment table for much of the remaining season.
This was where Bellerin came into play. The Catalan defender was, at the time, an extremely inexperienced teenager, who, equipped only with the technical skills he learnt at La Masia – and a little experience from his loan spell at Watford – was desperate for the chance to prove himself at the highest level.
Hector’s first chance to impress came against Borussia Dortmund away from home in the Champions League. Sadly, the 20-year-old failed to impress in the club’s 2-0 defeat. The intensity of the German giants’ pressing game forced Bellerin into numerous mistakes, and it looked like he wasn’t quite ready to play for Arsenal’s first team.
Thankfully, this wasn’t the case. Although the young right-back still had a few poor performances to get out his system, he began his true rise to dominance in Arsenal’s 4-1 win against Newcastle in the Premier League. With Wenger’s side on the front foot, Bellerin was finally able to play with freedom and confidence in a game which saw him register his first assist for the club. From here onwards, the only way was up for Arsenal’s young star.
In the matches that followed, Bellerin began to make his mark and rejuvenate an Arsenal side that had been struggling for width and pace in wide areas.
An extremely attacking mentality, coupled with lighting pace and plenty of quality on the ball, Hector began to make the right side of Arsenal’s defence – and often their frontline – his own. His quality build-up play and desire to get into attacking areas down Arsenal’s right flank meant that Wenger could play attacking midfielders like Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Özil as right-midfielders, without having to worry about restricting his side’s width. His speed and overlapping runs meant that the team always threatened on the break, and also gave the likes of Özil and Cazorla a player to aim for when pinging through balls behind the opposition’s back four.
Not only was Bellerin’s attacking play outstanding, but his physical qualities meant that he never left us too open at the back. Utilising his pace, Hector was able to chase down and tackle any player in the league – his 40 metre sprint record time was faster than Theo Walcott’s, a player who is thought of as one of the fastest in world football – before making his way back up the pitch to aid Arsenal’s attacks.
All of these qualities combined is what made the 20-year-old such an important player for the club during their 2014/15 campaign – especially against the top sides, where his energy and enthusiasm allowed us to attack ferociously on the counter.
Hector Bellerin is the modern full-back, and with plenty of time to continue to improve, Arsenal could have one of the best right-backs in Europe in their side in a few years time. Here’s hoping he can continue his fine form into next season and help Arsenal challenge for the Premier League title.
Does Bellerin deserve more praise for his performances last season? Let me know in the comments below.