Long read: Should Arsenal be worried about Hector Bellerin?

There are three things that always occur at this time of year in the world of football; International fixtures suck the life out of everyone, illuminous yellow balls are used in games for no good reason whatsoever, and reports start emanating from Barcelona that state that they’re interested in signing an Arsenal player. Again.

We’ve been here before with our Catalan friends, they’re like the one guy who your friend brings to a house party that you’re hosting, and all they do all night is ask you where you bought your furniture. Except, in Barca’s case, they also think you’re obliged to sell them whatever they take their fancy to.

That antique table that looks so nice in the living room? The one that you spent weeks mending and restoring to bring it back to full glory? The one that everyone looks at in envy? Yep, Barca are that guy who offers you half its market value whilst telling you that it’s wasted in your house anyway. No tact, no shame, nothing, all whilst trying to pass off acting as a ‘gentleman’. It’s Bargain Hunt, except with one letter changed in the second word.

We’ve become used to this charade though. If it wasn’t Marc Overmars that they wanted, it was Patrick Vieira. If it wasn’t Thierry Henry they wanted, it was Cesc Fabregas. Over the last decade and a half, Barcelona have viewed Arsenal as a London branch of a budget supermarket where most of the produce is fine, some of it is brilliant and some of it is of no use to anyone (sorry, Alex Song). As soon as something good appears at the Emirates, they appear out of the woodwork as if they were Spurs fans after winning a game in October: predictable, and just as annoying.

With all of this in mind, Barcelona are once again casting an envious eye over one of our players, but this time, it’s not as clear cut a situation as Arsenal having a world-class player and Barcelona wanting him. This time, it is Barca that negotiating from a position of weakness, not Arsenal.

In Hector Bellerin, Arsenal have the best young right-back in the world. If you need a right-back who has to do his own running and Lionel Messi’s on the right wing, and you have infinite money to spend like Barca do, the list of viable candidates isn’t a long one. Real Madrid won’t sell them Dani Carvajal for obvious reasons, Dani Alves just left Barca, Serge Aurier is a headcase. They bought Aleix Vidal from Sevilla last season as he played right-back as a contingency measure and looked good, but he’s been a disaster at the Nou Camp. They’ve had to resort to playing Sergi Roberto, a central midfielder, at right back. It’s a total mess at the moment.

For all the talk of La Masia being a production line of quality players for Barca, the conveyor belt has been empty for a while now. Gerald Pique, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta are still performing at a high level, but the clock is ticking on replacing them. Home grown player restrictions affect Barca just like they affect Arsenal, you need eight players that are either developed at the club or from the country you play in, in any 25-man Champions League squad.

With Barca’s squad becoming more and more un-Catalan as the years go by, the lack of an in-house successor to the likes of Xavi, (unlucky, Cesc) Puyol and Dani Alves means that whenever a chance comes to fill a position of need with a Spanish player, they have to take it, just so it means they can cast a wider net to fill other positions.

As a result, Hector Bellerin isn’t just some vanity signing to be targeted in order to placate fans who want to boast about the size of there club. Bellerin is as near a must-sign player as there is for Barca right now. It was never a case of if Barca came in for him, but when.

So, should Arsenal fear the worst again, just as they have when Barca have poked their head in the door before? No. Not in the slightest. For once, they are in a total no-lose scenario.

If Bellerin, a lad who by every interview he’s given seems to be having the time of his life whilst living in London, decides that he wants to stay around, then the best young right-back in the world will wear red and white for a while to come.

And if he decides that he wants to leave?

Well, when we thought about Thierry Henry leaving, we knew that Arsenal wouldn’t be competing for the league title the next season. It was the same when Cesc Fabregas left. Without the team’s best player and captain, it was going to be an enormous job finding someone to replace them.

Bellerin, as promising a player as he is, will never be as integral to Arsenal’s hopes of competing for silverware as a 30 goals a season striker or a 20 assists a season midfielder. He’s a really good right-back, but he’s only a right-back.

Go through Arsenal’s squad right now and tell me how players you wouldn’t want to lose ahead of Bellerin, and you’ll see why Barca’s interest in signing him is comparatively unimportant. If it were Mesut Özil or Alexis Sanchez being targeted, it would be a problem. Laurent Koscielny, too. Maybe Aaron Ramsey as well. I would even go as far as to say that Alex Iwobi may be more valuable to Arsenal than Bellerin right now, such is the going price for competent attacking midfielders at the moment.

Hector Bellerin might turn out to be the best right-back in the world in three years, and seeing that happen whilst he’s at another club would be far from ideal. But you don’t need world-class fullbacks to be successful, just someone who’s consistently solid week in and week out is more than fine. Think Nacho Montreal or Bacary Sagna. Good, but not world-class. That’s more than enough as long as the quality is there in the centre of the field.

Arsenal don’t have a problem with Hector Bellerin, Barcelona do. And the bigger that problem becomes, the more expensive his replacement will be at the Emirates.

Barcelona: The Champions League connection

The Blaugrana have a long list of names who used to represent the club as a player or coach that will take part in the competition during the coming season.

The Champions League gets underway on Tuesday for the 2016/17 season in which numerous former Barcelona employees seek to join the group stages of Europe's premier competition.

Full focus will be on the National Arena in Bucharest where Pep Guardiola's Manchester City face Steaua Bucharest, with Nolito set to be part of the starting line-up. "We will try to score goals and convince the players how important and nice it is to play in the Champions League," Guardiola said, "We will try to win [the competition]."

The former Barça coach - who won a historic treble in his debut season at the helm - has taken a 21-man squad to Romania but hasn't included Yaya Toure, who was also together with Guardiola during his time at the Camp Nou.

Luis Enrique and Phillip Cocu are of course already in the group-stages with Barça and PSV Eindhoven respectively but they could be joined by a further three former Blaugrana players in Guardiola, Oscar Garcia and Thomas Christiansen.

Garcia's Red Bull Salzburg face Dinamo Zagreb while Christiansen's APOEL Nicosia face off against FC Copenhagen.

Former Barça players Jonathan dos Santos and Dani Olmo - who represent Villarreal and Dynamo Zabreb respectively - are also aiming to join the group stages as well as Thomas Vermaelen who is currently on loan to AS Roma.

Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich), Grimaldo (Benfica), Thiago Motta and Maxwell (Paris Saint-Germain), Marc Bartra (Borussia Dortmund), Hector Bellerin and Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal), Pepe Reina (Napoli) and Adriano and Quaresma (Besiktas) are already in the group stages.

Hector Bellerin: Should he stay or should he leave Arsenal?

Written by Edward Ware

Over the past season, Hector Bellerin has emerged as the undisputed number one right-back for Arsenal.

The Spanish fullback played 36 of out of 38 Premier League games last season, contributing with one goal and five assists.

At 21 years of age, there is no doubt that the young Spaniard has huge potential.

With Dani Alves having left Barcelona for Juventus, Alexi Vidal is the only recognised senior first team player at right back. With this in mind, Bellerin has been touted as Alves’ potential successor.

The former La Masia academy player, has been very strongly linked with the Catalonian team in a £40 million deal.

Sergi Roberto, who predominantly plays in centre midfield, can also play at fullback but he lacks the experience to make the position his own.

So should he stay or should he go?

Since 2008, Arsenal have long been considered a feeder club for Barcelona. Thierry Henry, Alexander Hleb, Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song have all left for one of Europe’s biggest clubs in recent years.

So it would be no surprise to see Bellerin return to the club where he started his career.

Why stay

Although Bellerin has been Arsenal’s first choice right-back this season, he has only had one full season playing at the top level.

He is obviously a fantastic player, but we have seen what big money moves can do to players early on in their careers.

At this stage of his development, most people will see him at the best place.

Arsene Wenger has a reputation for developing talented youngsters, so it might be worth staying for a few years yet.

Bellerin already has an FA Cup to his name and with Arsenal one of the favourites to claim the league next season, along with the extra investment in players the club is seeing, things are beginning to get very exciting

Not all of the Arsenal players to have crossed the border have enjoyed success in Barcelona. Neither Fabregas, Song, Hleb or Henry managed to last more than three seasons.

However, Henry did of course win the treble with the club.

Why go

Simply, it’s Barcelona.

One of the biggest clubs in the world, Bellerin would consistently be challenging for Champions Leagues and league titles, as well as playing with arguably the best strike force in the world.

There is certainly a prestige that comes with playing for Barcelona.

If Bellerin were to make the move he would be playing for his boyhood club. He was born in Barcelona and joined the academy in 2003, before leaving for Arsenal in 2011. So it would be a dream come true for the young fullback.

If Barcelona do bid for the young defender it will certainly be a huge decision.

Luckily he is still at a very early stage in his career, so if he were to stay it is very likely Barcelona would come calling again.

Man City boss Pep Guardiola lines up move for Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin

The new City boss is set to oversee a major overhaul at the Etihad Stadium after replacing Manuel Pellegrini.

And The Times report that Guardiola wants to bring in Bellerin in order to be his first-choice right-back.

City are in the market for reinforcements in that position with Pablo Zabaleta expected to move on this summer which would leave Bacary Sagna, a former Arsenal player himself, as the only specialist right-back in the squad.

Bellerin was part of Barcelona’s La Masia academy during Guardiola’s time in charge of the Catalan’s before he left for Arsenal as a 16-year-old in 2011.

The Times state that Bellerin is particularly attractive for City as he is classified as a home-grown player.

The Spaniard spent three successive years in England before he turned 21 and by adding him to their squad, City would move closer to UEFA’s rules for European competitions.

They state that clubs must have eight home-grown players in their 25-man Champions League squads. This season City were forced to submit a smaller squad as they only had four players who met their criteria.

Bellerin is in high demand with Barcelona also considering a move for their former youngster as a replacement for Dani Alves.

Arsenal, however, are determined to hold on to their man and would likely demand a mammoth fee for the 21-year-old, who has four years left on his contract.

This week he was rated the most valuable defender in Europe by the CIES Football Observatory, who priced him at £43.1m.

City have regularly raided Arsenal for players in recent years, signing the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri and Sagna.

Guardiola has already made one signing since taking charge of City, midfielder Ilkay Gundogan arriving from Borussia Dortmund.

Hector Bellerin’s stunning ex-girlfriend heats up Instagram with more provocative pictures

Young Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin was dating hot Londoner Isabella Johnson-Ewers earlier this year, but it seems the couple are no more.

Isabella, who describes herself on Instagram as an ‘actress, dancer and model’, has erased all photos of Hector from her social media accounts, while her latest uploads include a snap of her kissing an unknown man.

We don’t know much about him. Nor do we care. After all, he’s not a footballer or a stunning actress, dancer and model.

However, we think you lot might like to see some of Isabella’s recent photos, although Mr Bellerin may want to steer clear because her level of hotness could upset him!

Isabella Johnson-Ewers… in a knitted jumper

Isabella Johnson-Ewers showing strong selfie game in her underwear

Isabella Johnson-Ewers showing off her peachy bum while flaunting the words ‘make money, not friends’

Isabella Johnson-Ewers pouting like a boss

Isabella Johnson-Ewers posing behind bed sheets

Isabella Johnson-Ewers looking explosive with an aerosol can

Isabella Johnson-Ewers kissing in black and white

Arsenal's Theo Walcott settles the Hector Bellerin speed debate once and for all

There was a time, not so long ago, when Theo Walcott's superior speed was entirely undisputed.

Not only was the then-winger by far and away the fastest man at Arsenal , he was widely agreed to be the fastest man in the Premier League . His speed was his greatest asset; there wasn't a defender who could catch him once he'd reached a sprint. Then, out of the blue, along came Hector Bellerin .

Though we're sure Theo is glad to see the academy graduate doing so well at the moment, he must feel a little put out about Hector's much-publicised pace. There has been talk of the young full-back beating Theo in a 100-metre sprint, while fans regularly debate which of the two is really Arsenal's fastest man.

However, Theo has now settled the debate once and for all.

Speaking to the guys over at Copa90 , Walcott has reasserted his dominance when it comes to sprinting, racing and all things pace. According to Theo, he'd win any contest over 100 metres - even if he does concede that Hector's burst speed is mightily impressive.

Why Alexis Sanchez Is The (Not So) Secret To Arsenal’s Future Success

Off the pitch, Arsene Wenger is the man at Arsenal football club. The 65-year-old Frenchman essentially runs the entire club and 17 consecutive years of Champions League football speaks for itself. 

But once the whistle blows, there is not a single person of the 60,000 at the Emirates (on a good day), who outshines Alexis Sánchez, the £35 million man from Barcelona.

Don’t be surprised if this 3-0 thrashing of Manchester United last weekend seemed familiar because it was nearly identical to the Gunners’ 4-1 demolition of Liverpool at the Emirates last April. Héctor Bellerín opened the scoring against Liverpool, but Özil and Sánchez scored Arsenal’s second and third goal in the first half of both games. 

Thierry Henry noted in his post-match analysis that the Chilean will invariably cut onto his right foot on the edge of the box. But when the finish is as good as it was last weekend and last April, why not?

After comparing these two games, the point is that the teams that spend the most money will inevitably be successful in one way or another. Although Arsenal became the only club in the top four leagues to not sign a single outfield player this summer, the combined £77.5 million transfer fee for Özil and Sánchez means there has been at least some departure from Wenger’s oppressive frugality of recent years. 

And while Özil hasn’t yet justified the club transfer record fee paid for him, the 26-year-old playmaker is still the type of player who will make that genius pass that nobody else in the stadium could see. However, even the most brilliant of passes are meaningless if they don’t receive the finish they deserve. And Arsenal fans will be the first to tell you that this is often the case with Olivier Giroud, particularly in the big games in which the Gunners always seem to falter. 

Other than Theo Walcott’s emergence as a top-class striker, the good news for these fans is that Sánchez is back in form. Every successful, trophy-winning team needs a talisman―someone who, despite overwhelming expectations, always seems to step up when his team needs him most. 

The teams that dominate European football, like Bayern (Robben, Muller), Real (Ronaldo, Bale, Ramos), and Barcelona (Messi, Iniesta, Suarez, Neymar), have these types of players in abundance, but as Chelsea proved in 2011-12 (Drogba) and so to Atlético in 2013-14 (Costa), sometimes one is enough.

Robin Van Persie was that man for Arsenal, especially in his last season, but now it’s time for Sánchez to take the reins after a short stint by Aaron Ramsey. And for the most part, the Chilean has absolutely filled the shoes worn by RVP, Henry, and Bergkamp. 

At the very start of his Arsenal career, he scored what should have been the winner against defending champions Manchester City. He then went on to score crucial Champions League goals against Dortmund, two goals in the FA Cup semi-final, and Arsenal’s second in the final against Aston Villa. 

Never mind Sánchez’s contagious work-rate; his unstoppable strike in the FA Cup final is exactly the kind of out-of-nothing, against-the-run-of-play brilliance that Arsenal needs when the tough games inevitably get out of hand. 

Eight assists and 16 goals in his first Premier League season is fantastic, and the Chilean looks on course to reach, if not improve upon, that benchmark this season. If Arsenal can avoid the sort of calamitous collapse that saw them lose at home to Olympiacos, Sánchez can drag his team to their first league title in over a decade.