‘Compared to where we were, we’re better’

Hector Bellerin is confident that we are on the up, despite losing to Manchester City on Sunday.

Our right back went as close as any Arsenal player to scoring at the Emirates with a fierce shot that Ederson pushed away. Here’s what Hector said after the game:

on what he can take away from the game…

Well, I see the game as something positive. Having been on the pitch today, I think that compared to where we were last year I think we looked better and had chances in the second half that we didn’t score. We’re playing against a team that have been around each other for three years and they have new players and were crowned champions, so we knew that it was going to be hard, so for us it’s about taking the positives.

on defeat in the first game of the season…

There’s still loads of games but you cannot be missing out on points. Every single point is important and going away to Chelsea is always hard. They showed yesterday that they’re a team that play very good football under Sarri, and we’re up for the challenge. We played them in pre-season so we know more or less how they play, so now we have a whole week to prepare and get ready for it.

on whether we can beat our achievements of recent seasons…

Definitely. I think after 22 years under Arsene Wenger there are many things that are changing so it’s important for everyone to get used to all the players. Everyone should be very excited because it’s a new era for us and it’s about learning with the new coach, learning the new system and I’m sure we’ll get better. If you compare it to Guardiola’s first year it was a very hard year for him - and look where they are now! So we need to look at it that way. It’s a positive change and we’re excited.