Various reports overnight suggest that Hector Bellerin will fly to Seville today to sign for Real Betis.
The right back has been absent so far this season, but made it clear that he was keen to the depart the Emirates this summer after more than 10 years at the club. Via the media he let it be known that he would be willing to take a pay cut in order to facilitate a move, and that’s unusual for a player.
Betis had been linked earlier in the transfer window, but their interest was called off due to the cost of the deal, so it remains to be seen exactly how this one is going to be structured.
It’s not yet 100% clear if it’s a loan, loan + option/obligation, but we’ll know more later.
Hector joined Arsenal from Barcelona in 2011, and made his debut against West Brom in the League Cup, coming on as a substitute for none other than Mikel Arteta.
Since then he has made 239 first team appearances, and played in three successful FA Cup finals in 2015, 2017 and 2020.
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Sad to see him leave without fulfilling his potential. Was so excited to see him as a young player breaking through ranks. His pace going forward and covering his area was wonderful and he benched an established player Debuchy (although the thug spoiled his career).
I would always wish him well and would like to see him grow better and perform well. Feels like an end of the era with Hector going!
He was on the way to fulfilling it during Emery’s first year.. then the injury happened.
Since then it’s been tough for him. He feels that he needs a change of scenery so be it. Good luck, Hector.
Edu and Arteta will destroy the entire foundations of the club. We will take at least 20 yrs or 2 bn dollars to recover from this mess. Every player that is brought in is worse their previous counterpart, and at twice the cost.
Incompetence at its worst.
Oh, do leave off. FFS.
Interesting stats.
“We will take *throws dart* 20 yrs or *rolls dice* 2 billion *spins globe* dollars to recover from this mess.”
Everyone considers Newcastle a great club with a bad owner, same will be with The Arsenal.
Get relegated one year, and win championship and return back next year.
I like the idea of a 2 billion side dice!
“ Every player that is brought in is worse their previous counterpart, and at twice the cost.”
A statements that’s been correct for the last 15 years!!
Exactly what I was going to say. Such a shame that we let these clueless guys destroy our club from the base.
couldnt agree more- just because the numbers may not be fact orientated does not mean the sentiment is not true,
i truly hope we get turned over by Norwich at home and scrape a point at Burnley and then lose at spurs culminating in the pressure being too much and the board having to act.
arteta out already
I wonder how a fan can claim he loves his team but wants them to loose, only so just one man suffers the loss of his job🤷🏾♂️. I’d rather wish the team wins but the board/owner sees the manager’s team selection/tactics is mediocre and so the sack him
While I agree with the sentiment (and that is how MOST jobs in the world are rated).. that’s just not how it usually works these days .. results on the pitch guarantee the job .. needless to say it’s very short term thinking but not something I’d put past the current board …
I understand the move but I feel heavy hearted to see him leave. May well be our last tie to better days. Hope there are more for Hector and Arsenal.
He lost his speed after the injury but where did he lose his enthusiasm? Surely he felt slighted to watch Chambers, Cedric, go ahead of him in the order.
I worry that MA is not working at supporting players and improving them or fitting them into the scheme. AMN, Saliba Eddie all seem to be iced out.
I feel there are stories to come out on this period soon – maybe on Amazon?
I don’t know about Amazon — or if I would even be arsed to read about it. But there’s clearly something rotten at the Emirates. Mikel Arteta might not be wholly responsible, but he’s already alienated Bellerin, Maitland-Niles, Guendouzi, Torreira, Saliba… and probably a few more, all while playing the likes of Willian, Cedric, Xhaka.
Never reached the heights we hoped he would.
Leaves as less of a legend, more of a stalwart.
Best of luck but I have long felt he was the type we needed to move on.
Really could do with a new right-back on deadline day to be honest.
There’s always Sead 😂
Clue: He’s big in japan
Don’t think anyone will think badly of him he has represented Arsenal on and off the pitch and shown himself to be a decent human being which is rare in the football world. Injuries and the current “process” I suspect have taken their toll. I would wish him well and hope he gets back to enjoying his football.
Isn’t he the one who said Alexis annoyed everyone else because he wanted to win too much?
And so…?
Guy with a lot of potential, marred with injuries that held him back. Can’t say I’m disappointed he’s going. Best of luck.
An over rated fullback, who has significant defensive deficiencies. Hector only had 1 season of productive output (both defensive and offensively) way back in 2014/15. The fact that he is still at the club despite his repeatedly poor output, says a lot about the longevity of the club’s poor recruitment practices.
You must be the type of guy who shows up at farewell parties and have all the worst things to say instead.
Not the best, neither the worst. 10 years at the same institution is not an easy feat. Try and focus on the positives instead and let the guy (and us) move on to better things.
You stay classy, Fred
You must really love Arteta. Hope your wet dreams may come true.
🤣
An over rated contributor, who has significant analytic deficiencies. Freddie08 only had 1 comment of productive output (both literal and metaphorical) way back in 2014/15. The fact that he is still at the site despite his repeatedly poor output, says a lot about the longevity of his poor judgement.
See. Its incredibly easy to be relentlessly negative. How about reading the situation and saying nothing if you have nothing nice to say? Or do you think that being on the Internet absolves you of that?
It feels like the end of an era with Bellerin’s departure. He never really recovered his pace after that awful injury. Wishing you all the best, Hector!
Doesn’t feel like the end of any era, feels like the continuation of our demise. It’s sad to see Héctor go because he’s such a good fella, but no doubt he just stopped getting better and the level he was at the lay few years wasn’t really good enough. Seems there is all too much of this going on. Too many guys not reaching their potential and too much dead wood. We’re failing. Fast.
Good luck to Bellerin, liked by most Arsenal fans. But think even he needs a change of scenario, hopefully finds his best form again.
good luck to Hector.
its now upto AMN to stake a claim for a spot on the team.
he basically has no one in front of him.
Was the thinking to play cedric because they did not want injuries to bellerin and AMN? And did they change their mind about AMN now?
Is there time to get a new RB? Or are we stuck with cedric for the rest of the season? its a mess.
Arteta should have been playing AMN at RB from the get go this season, but the way he has handled it the player feels unwanted and is keen to move away – who can blame him!!! Like you say “it’s a mess”
Sad to say it but Ainsley has pissed on his chips at Arsenal
More like Arteta pissed on his light and completely doused it.
Get out while you still can, Ainsley!
So when did Ainsley refuse to play RB….or did he say he PREFERS midfield.
It’s reported that Ainsley has on many occasions had some attitude issues. Personally I’d be happy for him to nail down the right back spot but putting his issues in the public forum is never going to go down well with any club.
Eboue on a free please
Last January it was widely reported that we wanted AMN to do on loan to play right back. He chose to go play CM instead, so didn’t exactly give Arteta much to think about at RB.
Not to say he hasn’t been mismanaged, especially when we bought Cedric specifically to replace him as our second choice RB, but he hasn’t exactly helped himself either.
He looked like he was going on to be a great player at the club but after the injury he never regained that pace that was key to his defensive recovery runs. I do wonder though, if changing to his plant based diet has had a negative impact as he has looked a lot skinnier than previously?
Wondered exactly the same thing. In the modern era of marginal gains you’d have to say it must affect his game. All due respect for his decision though, Hector’s been a good player for us and wish him well.
Plant based diets don’t make you thin and don’t cause loss of muscle mass. You can still get plenty of protein through beans, legumes, etc. Plant based diets reduce inflammation which allows athletes to recover faster.
Maybe do some reading on how many nba athletes are going vegan. You wouldn’t really describe them as skinny runts would you?
Willian terminating his contact, Bellerin willing to take a paycut, AMN begging to leave – doesn’t look good for the environment at arsenal!!!
Or maybe we should have some faith in the process and wait to see who they’d be replaced with. As much as we may appreciate what those players have done over the years, they are not players that a club like Arsenal needs to move to the next level (esp with their wages).
Good luck, Hector.
He was probably the most exciting right back in the league when he broke through, but sadly was never quite able to reach the same heights after the injury.
We’re going to miss his unique Spanish-Cockney hybrid accent.
Best accent since Jan molby.
Love Hector, always will.
Feels like the best thing all round for everyone and creates a space in the squad that Edu MUST fill today…
Its a bit of a sad tale. A player with great potential in his early days and appears to be a wonderful human being but just never had the football IQ to become a top level player regardless of his injuries and physical decline. He just cant read the game and is reactionary in offensive and defensive actions throughout a match. I truly hope he goes on to enjoy the rest of his playing career and the rest of his life and i’m sure he’ll do great things outside of football. Thanks for the effort Hector and the wanting to… Read more »
Get out while you can Hector!
And thanks for all that you have done for this club.
You are already missed, as Saturday’s pitiful team selection of Cedric showed.
A good player and even better as a person.
We’re selling the only player who looks like a proper right back and demotivate the other who could play there (AMN) leaving us with League One grade options.
If MA/Edu doesn’t sign a replacement today for me it’s the final nail in the coffin for MA/Edu.
Sinking ship! Abandon ship!
Throwing the manager overboard should suffice.
Anyone saying anything negative about Hector on here isn’t a true Arsenal fan.
Had it not been for his injuries, I feel he’d have gone on to be an Arsenal legend. A great player on his day and a real likeable guy on and off the pitch.
Good luck whatever happens Hector, it’s been emotional. #BlueSteel
Not excited to see him stay but not bittered to see him go.All the best in his next adventure.
Would be interesting to know his movitations for leaving… He was one of the captains, seems very attached to London and it feels a little weird to me.
Apparently wanted to leave last season. Hence Chambers being preferred to him. All very odd. it’s hard to argue we’ve got a better right back in the squad. He seemed a lot less vocal last season. Almost like he had mentally checked out.
Guess who persuaded him to stay?
Maybe felt isolated being away from family during a pandemic? The experience of the past 18 months has caused a lot of folk to have a mental reset. The fact that he made it public that he would be willing to take a pay cut might indicate a re-evaluation of his priorities, although he has always seems to be a well-rounded individual with interests outside football. In 2020, for one of his “More Than A Footballer” episodes, he spoke to Flamini regarding Mathieu’s eco-sustainability enterprise.
It’s a shame how it ended. I still think he’s our best right back and we end up with Chambers and Soares as our options then we are screwed.
Maitland-Niles, Tomiyasu, Chambers and Soares, in that order?
Although he’s declined since the injury I still think he’s the best right back we have/had in the last year. Doesn’t say much about the rest, I guess.
I won’t miss his throw ins but I’ll miss a likeable guy who I occasionally saw hanging about in Brick Lane. Good luck to him. I thought he was gonna be a superstar but it’s not quite worked out that way.
Brick Lane is exactly the type of place I’d expect Hector to be hanging out at😁. There are some quirky and hipster shops on that street that you won’t really find elsewhere in London
Wonder if we’ll stick in a bid for Max Aarons today. Good idea to weaken a rival…
That’s a very good call.
Which means that it won’t happen….
Took us nearly the entire window to get Odegaard back..
Arsenal identify and get a signing done in 24 hours..lol
Good for him, but it’s still heartbreaking to see his current level knowing how good he used to be, let alone could be.
You’ll always be one of us.
Bellerin had more heart than this entire team combined.
I remember a game (don’t remember the opposition) when their striker was off on breakaway, barreling down 1v1 on Cech. Bellerin, about 15 yards behind the striker gave a dead sprint to catch up and put in a sliding tackle to block the shot.
This is the type of player mindset we need. A winning, never-give-up mentality.
Best of luck, Hector.
Swansea vs Arsenal (2014-15). Bafetimbi Gomis had managed to round Cech and was through on goal. Out of nowhere, came a marauding Bellerin from about 25 yards away to steal the ball from him at the last second. Gomis was quicker to the ball than Cech but Hector was even quicker. The look of Gomis’ face afterwards said “Where the hell did this guy come from?”
Hector may have been the fastest player in England at that time (maybe except Kyle Walker, though it hurts to say so). We forget that when we say he lost some pace after his injury–absolutely true, but that did not make him slow.
I liked his run against Bayern. It was like their entire midfield and defence froze as he zoomed past them all and teed it for Ozil. That was a good day.
I hope he can be successful and happy, he’s a very good football player and a very lovely person. All the very best Heccy B, I’ll miss you a lot.
Now here is someone who DOES deserve our best wishes.
Thanks for all that you’ve done for this club Hector – especially setting up the goal that gave us another FA Cup.
It’s crazy how much the value of our squad has diminished!
We have less than a handful of players that could play for a top 4 team!
Should Arsenal fire Edu after today?
At exactly 00:01, and it will already be too late.
The hope is he takes his agent buddy and the “manager” with him.
Another player made worse by Arteta
There seem to be a good few of those.
I’m no Arteta defender, but Hector has been made worse by his ACL tear.
It did…But Arteta was able to take him notches below even that. To the point he forgot how to take throw ins.
One of our longest serving and id still trust him over Cedric and Chambers.
Again, hate to defend Arteta, but Hector has quite famously said
“Buh I’ve always taken ’em like vhat!”
Indicating that he had never known how to take throw ins.
I don’t trust Cedric and Chambers at all, but Hector has shown he’s not at the level either, unfortunately.
I love Hector! Always represented Arsenal well and a decent human. Hope he can regain his form. Still remember the insane speed and tackle to catch Pedro vs Chelsea, crazy interception/run/assist to Özil vs Bayern etc. Glad to have a Bellerin shirt. Best of luck from me!
He looked most in sync when he played with Alexis and Ozil; as good as anyone in the league.
I can’t help but think Hector was a much better player before his role was complicated.
We have fullbacks that become inverted and responsible in midfield. Midfielders who tuck in at fullback and strikers asked to do a job in defence. Is it all over-complicated and not getting the best from players?
As a person, I am sad to see Hector go though.
After the injuries and the vegan diet his speed disappeared and under Arteta -like most of the players- he fell back with another 10 percent.
Gutted to see him go. I think it’s probably a good move for him as a refresh might be what he needs and he’s clearly not happy, but gutted all the same.
The next question is what do we do to replace him? It’s late in the day and this doesn’t strike me as part of a plan! I’d be surprised if this does anything but weaken the squad. Happy to be proved wrong though!
Goodluck Hector. Unlucky that he couldn’t reach the heights we and probably he expected. Very unlucky with two debilitating injuries that have ended careers.
Was never the same after his injury, hope he has success with Real Betis. It’s only a loan with no option to buy so possibly could see him back with Arsenal, though I think it’s best for both sides to do a permanent move somewhere before next season. Thankfully we have a right back (or at least someone that can play right back) in now who sounds promising, though don’t know anything about him. I would love to see us move Chambers and Cedric and go with Takehiro and AMN at right back.
What’s sad is that we know (as do they) that the addition of only an unproven right back will not stop the slide of our once great club.
It’s so very sad when we as fans already know the season is written off (no chance of top 4, top 6 or even replacing a third straight 8th place) after 3 games.
Thanks for the good times and the FA cups Heccie, and thanks for being a stand up representative of our club. Think he could have come back better after his injury if he hadn’t simultaneously gone vegan, I know it might be controversial but I sensed a dangerous lack of chicken nuggets towards the end and I reckon he lost that cutting edge physically as a result.
The time he complained Alexis “wanted to win too badly” I knew this guy was a loser and needed to be sold. Can’t have directors and managers talking about changing the culture of the club when you have players like Hector in the squad who can only handle a certain amount of competition.