Bellerin - The secret to my speed

Hector Bellerin has revealed the secret behind his blistering pace.

The 20-year-old has impressed in his breakthrough season at Arsenal, playing 21 times in all competitions and scoring twice.

Bellerin broke Theo Walcott’s 40-metre sprint record by 1/100th of a second at the start of the season and has been a constant threat on the right-hand side for Arsenal with his pace in the England forward’s absence.

“Some people are born fast,” Bellerin said. “I’ve always been pretty quick for my whole career. It gets to the point that you have to do something about it. For the past two years I’ve been working a lot on the power in my legs - all of that has helped me.

“Everything you do off the pitch always shows so you have to work on yourself physically as well, it’s not just working on your touch. That’s probably the secret. I doubt I’m the fastest player in the world!

“We took a test in the summer and I broke the club record, so I guess I am the fastest at the club but throughout the season injuries come along and you never know whether you are the fastest player at that exact time.

“It was a surprise for me but it proves that the hard work you do behind the scenes helps you on the pitch. I’ve never raced. I’ve only ever played football so I’ve never done athletics. It’s helped me throughout my career because speed is a good asset to have.”