‘Hector is demanding to improve all the time’

It was a fine afternoon for Hector Bellerin on Sunday as he claimed two assists against Sheffield United.

But what is the secret to his impressive performances so far this season?

 

“There are no secrets, he's demanding all the time to do more individual work, to improve in the final third,” Mikel Arteta said. “He's doing a lot of reviews, a lot of individual defensive work as well in things that he has to improve. When you do that, you get rewarded.

 

“Maybe it's not going to happen in the first week or the first month but over time, he'll improve. He had a difficult period because he was doubting himself in his head with the amount of time that he's been here, a lot of things have been happening in the background.

 

“I trust him, I know him really well and I know how much he can still improve. He's showing every day that he's willing to do it. I'm pleased because I really like him.”

 

Bellerin was linked with a move away earlier in the window, but Arteta is delighted he is staying in north London.

“Yes [I feared he may leave] because I understand that after such a long time at the club, and a lot of things that happened in that trajectory of his development, that he doubted whether he was still OK to continue here, what ambitions he had here, how he can evolve here,” our manager said.

 

“But what I liked is that he came to me and said, 'I can see what we are trying to do here and I'm convinced it's the right place for me'. Then when you close that window, you can open the next one.

 

“He was a completely different player that I could see in training with his energy level as well, and his willingness to work a little bit more all of the time. We need to keep him fit as well, that's one of the issues he's had in the last few years because he's been really unlucky with injuries. You want to have that consistency and at this level of performance, you have to be fit. There's no other way.”