At the beginning of the season, very few would have believed that a young Spaniard by the name of Hector Bellerin would be one of Arsenal's standout players. Yet, at the end of 2014-15, here he is in the Arsenal Team of the Season. So, how has Bellerin managed his meteoric rise to stardom?
At only 20, he is by far the youngest player in Arsenal's starting XI and he is the most inexperienced. He started his career at Barcelona, a graduate of the clubs La Masia youth system, before he moved to Arsenal in 2011. He made his Arsenal debut as a late substitute against West Brom in the third round of the 2013-14 League Cup, before going out on loan at Championship side Watford midway through the 2013-14 season. He grabbed headlines with the Hornets with some solid defensive displays and some good attacking play, but he was recalled in February 2014.
His lung bursting assist and strong defensive performance against Leeds won him plaudits among Watford fans, but he was not used under new manager Beppe Sannino and was subsequently brought back to North London. Bellerin also put in some strong performances in his seven games with the Arsenal under 21 team. VAVEL's Arsenal editor, Conor de Smith, who was a regular watcher of Bellerin at both Watford and the Arsenal Under 21s, said that:
"He [Bellerin] was always a standout performer for me when I went to see the U21 last season. He was also great in right wing-back for Watford under Zola and his assist against Leeds typified all his attacking qualities. He was also superb when I saw him in the Emirates Cup against Benfica last year."
Bellerin broke into the squad as a result of a early season defensive crisis where Debuchy, Chambers and Monreal were all injured, leaving Bellerin as one of only two fit full-backs. He made his debut against Borussia Dortmund and, despite the team's 2-0 loss, he was praised for his performance. He also played in Arsenal's League Cup loss over Southampton, before making his league debut at home to Hull City. After the halfway point of the season, Bellerin began to get a lot more game time and, after a string of impressive performances, he became an ever present on the team sheet. He missed just five games from mid-January to the end of the season, and he played in many of Arsenal's biggest games including the 2-0 away win over Manchester City, the 2-1 win over Manchester United and the 4-0 FA Cup final win over Aston Villa.
He scored two goals in the 28 games he played, both were fine side footed strikes. The first came as the last goal in Arsenal's 5-0 thrashing of Aston Villa in February and the second was the opening goal in Arsenal's 4-1 win over Liverpool in April.
Throughout the season, Bellerin has impressed with his strong attacking qualities. His pace is difficult for opposing players to deal with, early in the season he became Arsenal's fastest ever player after breaking Theo Walcott's 40m sprint record. His attacking presence has been beneficial, in his 20 league appearance he has created 12 chances and scored two goals.
Bellerin is the only Arsenal player to have a 100% shot accuracy ratio, showing that all of his shots have been on target. Of these five shots, two have been scored, meaning he has a 40% shot to goal conversion rate. One of his main attacking strengths is his dribbling, Bellerin makes, on average, two dribbles per game. Defensively, he also plays an important part in the team when he plays. He has an average of three tackles, two interceptions and two clearances per game, meaning that defensive contribution tanks as one of his strengths.
Arsenal's 4-0 FA Cup final win is a performance that showed off many of his strengths, both offensively and defensively. He pushed up the pitch and he exploited the slow, narrow Aston Villa defence with his pace. Although he did not score or register an assist, he played a huge attacking role and his attack nearly opened the scoring but Ramsey's shot hit the side netting. Defensively, he was also solid. He managed to keep quiet one of the largest attacking threat in the game, Jack Grealish. Bellerin's strong defensive performance was slightly overlooked in the final, but it contributed to a great cup final.
Statistically, Bellerin is stronger than many of his defensive counterparts at Arsenal. He has created the same amount of chances (12) as Nacho Monreal, only second to Kieran Gibbs. He is second to Gibbs in his passing accuracy statistics, with 84% of his passes being completed. This means that on average, 32 of his 38 passes per match are completed.
His excellent statistics are reflected on the pitch where many of his performances are fluent and mature, unlike many young defenders of his age. His performances have been praised by many pundits, but due to some of the other top class performers in the squad, sometimes his contributions are overlooked. His pacy style of football suits the way Arsenal play really well. Many of Bellerin's dribbles into opposition territories or passes create attacks, even though these are not recorded as assists or key passes. Bellerin is just as good defensively, and he is willing to track back while the attack is still going on to stop the potential counter attacks.
Bellerin's improvement this season has been astonishing and, despite only coming into the squad as cover, he has held down a first team place. He has faced competition from both Chambers and Debuchy when fit, but has managed to keep his place. Also, Bellerin's performances and goals, coupled with his infectious smile and enthusiasm for the club and the game, have made him a fan favourite.
Next season, he is probably hoping for more of the same, but it will probably be more difficult. Both Chambers and Debuchy should be fit and Jenkinson may return from his successful loan spell at West Ham. This means that there will be a lot of competition in the right-back position for Bellerin to deal with. Next season, it will also be easier to see in what areas Bellerin has improved from this season. It could also be more difficult for him as next season people will know what to expect, while this season many teams did not.
Overall, Bellerin's season has been great. On paper and on the pitch, his season looks to have been a very successful one, and personally for him it must have been as well. At the age of only 20, holding down a regular starting place in the Arsenal first team must feel like a dream come true. After this season, Arsenal fans are really hoping that Bellerin can only improve and that his performances go from strength to strength.
