In 2011, while Barca we’re haggling over Cesc’s transfer fee, Arsene Wenger signed Hector Bellerin and Jon Toral from Barca’s academy for a mere € 350k. In 2016, Hector Bellerin was voted by his peers to the PFA Team of the Year, solidifying that he was the most feared right back in the Premier League this campaign. Congratulations, Hector!
Nice! EDIT: Due to grad school, second job, and older son & gf moving in w/us, I've been VERY out of the loop. I'd missed this announcement.
DON YUTE TINGS he's learning at Penn mans said "Joint me on my Snapchat. MADOUSE!! Still would like to see him add some things to his game. Wonder what he'd be like with more schematic positional coaching. Oh well. BIgup to him though.
Yep: Bellerin signs extension (ESPN FC). Not sure if it'll stop Barca or Man City from doing everything to pry him away, but it's going to be very costly for them.
Interesting piece about Bellerin and AMN23: https://statsbomb.com/2019/10/ill-b...rin-and-ainsley-maitland-niles-arsenal-story/ Key snippets: The point of Bellerín has never been a mystery: He offers a mix of speed and good passing with just enough defence to justify his presence on the pitch. In Arsène Wenger’s final season, when he was last healthy, Bellerín was a passable defender: his tackles and interception rates were roughly average; he was a decent presser; opposing players dribbled past him a fair bit, which tended to result in him picking up fouls. He didn’t progress the ball so much as he served as an additional creative player higher up the pitch. He passed well enough to make that role work, and was heavily involved in the team’s attack. . . . All of which is to say that Ainsley Maitland-Niles wound up playing more than 2,100 minutes for Arsenal in 2018-19 and was fine, basically. He played nothing like Bellerin, but a team that’s on its third right back can’t really be picky. It also helped that he played like a budget version of Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Let’s pause her for a brief digression about Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The comparison with Maitland-Niles is instructive insofar as it shows what Manchester United paid for this summer: A right back who opponents can’t escape on the dribble. The tackles and interceptions and pressures are all nice, but the point of Wan-Bissaka is that you can’t dribble past him. That’s what you pay $60 million for. Still, if you don’t have $60 million to spend and are just fishing around the academy for solutions, as is the late-period Arsenal way, a fullback who does lots of defensive work is a handy find. The high tackle, interception and pressure rates have been a consistent part of Maitland-Niles’ game dating back to Wenger’s final season. (His attacking contribution has been more variable.) He defends slightly deeper than Bellerín, but not in a way that can explain away the substantial difference in outcomes. They’re just different players. . . . Such is the case with Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who some Arsenologists still insist is a defensive midfielder filling in at fullback in the club’s frequent times of crisis. (Some reporting suggests Maitland-Niles also feels this way.) About which, maybe??? Players can move between being defensive midfielders and fullbacks. That may be the biggest tactical legacy of Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich. But football is also rife with fullbacks who began their careers as midfielders. Maitland-Niles might one day be a midfielder, but it seems clear enough that he is already an interesting defensive fullback. This leaves Arsenal in an interesting position. There is no fullback competition. Bellerín is the starter when healthy, and Maitland-Niles’ defensive performances have done little to solidify the team in his absence. He is nevertheless an interesting piece, and definitely more than a squad player to be called upon in emergencies. Arsenal set out to get a defensive backup for Bellerín in 2018 only to find him already within the squad. What would be more Arsenal than lucking into such a player only to have no plan for using him?
Didn't read the article, but I can say that the expectations of Bellerin coming back and being a worldclass fullback/wingback are quite high. Too high probably. There's this syndrome where the player who is out on long-term injury takes on mythic quality improvement while we can't see them play. Hector & Rob are 2 recent examples. One has to remember that both are coming back from very serious injuries, and thus temper one's expectations a bit. <he tells himself>
Maybe, but I trusted you to present the gist. Anyway, my comment stands by itself, regardless of what conclusions the statsbomb piece reached about Hector.
Good article. I think he described both players pretty well. The only thing I don’t understand is the issue at hand. Both players are useful and should get plenty of time. Bellerin may be the starter, but he can’t play every game, and he is combing off an injury. AMN has done well enough. I think that he proved that he belongs at that level, but he will need to improve to get the lion’s share of time. Competition is good, and again, both should play plenty either way.
The criticism of AMN was unfair because he is not RB nor is he a defender. More of a CM tbh.Bellerin will be an upgrade but let's not pretend he is a great or even a good defender. Prior to his injury he was getting eaten up in Wenger last year. He provides a true wingback role so that's a positive.
Imo this is where data is iffy because we went a lot more defensive when hector went out he’s also better going forward
In my periodic effort to bump long-neglected threads... Here's a nice interview by the unusual but loved Roger Bennett, and as they talk it seems to me that Hector actually follows him and MIB... Bellerin is clearly a good egg. If I was on his team, I'd be super happy to have him in my locker room, as my captain.
For three FA Cups and 239 appearances. For the dedicated support for our local community, GayGooners and so much more.For understanding what it means to be a Gooner.Thank you, Hector ❤️— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 1, 2022