Hector Bellerin exclusive: Mikel Arteta 'masterclass', Bukayo Saka pride and continuing Arsene Wenger's Arsenal legacy

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In the first of a two-part exclusive interview, Real Betis star Hector Bellerin reveals why he always believed in Mikel Arteta, and speaks of the joy of seeing Arsenal return to the top after some dark days. Bellerin and Arteta were team-mates before the former returned to Spain and the latter was forced to retire due to injury. The full-back is also full of praise for Bukayo Saka.

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The question isn’t even about Mikel Arteta, the subject of his old club Arsenal not even broached, but Hector Bellerin can’t help himself.

When asked by TNT Sports during the international break about what's in store once his playing career ends, and whether coaching might feature, Bellerin is sure.

“I have to say that I don’t want to get into coaching, that’s something that I can tell you right now,“ he revealed.

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“It’s something that I really enjoy. I really enjoy understanding the game, and I have to say that the short time I had with Mikel, for me it was a masterclass.

“The way he viewed football even before he started being the right hand of Pep [Guardiola]. He already could see football in a different light than me, for example, at the time did.

“So I do enjoy a lot understanding the game and tactics and all of that. It's true that football is my life and is my job, but I think there are more important things not in football - and more important things that, if they are healthy, will help you in football as well.”

In TNT Sports' wide-ranging conversation, it is impossible to shake the feeling that whilst Bellerin is beyond content at home in Seville, there will always be a place in his heart for Arsenal.

Hector Bellerin (Real Betis Balompie) seen in action during the LaLiga EASPORTS game between Real Betis Balompie and RCD Mallorca at Estadio Benito Villamarin.

Image credit: Getty Images

Bellerin admits that in the summer of 2011, as a 16-year-old before a move to north London materialised, he was actually choosing the next step on his educational journey, with a course in psychology in his future.

Then, Arsenal called. The rest, by his own admission, was a whirlwind. As one kid from Barcelona left – Cesc Fabregas moving back to Catalonia – another arrived.

Bellerin’s explosive pace and fearless attitude took the Premier League by storm as he broke through a couple of years after his arrival. In the 2015/16 season, he became a mainstay, being named in the PFA Team of the Season, the only Arsenal player in the side.

He was flying high until a devastating ACL injury in January 2018 that derailed his progress.

But, Bellerin says, in some ways he was grateful for the break, because it was the first time in his career that he was able to stop and truly appreciate everything he had achieved.

“The first time that I actually had proper physical time thinking about that is when I did my ACL. I had played over 150 games for Arsenal, won trophies, been in successful teams and been named in a PFA Team of the Year.

“I remember I was sitting there with a cast on my knee, thinking ‘f*****g hell, I haven’t even been able to realise what I’ve done at 24, 25 years old', all of it happened so quick.

Hector Bellerin of Arsenal celebrates scoring his teams second goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on January 3, 2018

Image credit: Getty Images

“Ever since that moment, I’ve gotten into the habit of writing and just reflecting on football, my experiences, the future of the game. The anecdotes that I have in my life, especially from those in the dressing room or with my team-mates, they’re very precious and that’s the stuff you really take.”

One of the constants through that initial rise was an elegant ball-playing midfielder who had arrived in the same year - one part of a chaotic deadline day for the ages that also saw Per Mertesacker, Park Chu-young, Andre Santos and Yossi Benayoun sign. Some were more successful than others.

But as Arteta’s body began to fail him, the young full-back could already see his team-mate’s brain working - working in that unique way that enamoured Pep Guardiola, and persuaded Arsenal to make his first senior job in management a major rebuild of an English giant.

Bellerin’s energy is high throughout the conversation - the second part of which will be released on Thursday, before Real Betis’ UEFA Conference League clash with FC Copenhagen, live on TNT Sports and discovery+ - but it goes to another level when talking about Arteta and Arsenal.

“He was very, very intelligent. There's lots of players that are given credit for a goal they’ve scored, or things that happened in the moment when they got the ball, but not many players are given credit for how they made the players around them play.

“He was one of those guys that, with his positioning, with leading the team from a midfield perspective, was giving the players massive opportunities and getting them into good areas to express themselves.

Arsenal Head Coach Mikel Arteta with Hector Bellerin during a training session at London Colney on January 24, 2020 in St Albans, England

Image credit: Getty Images

“Lots of conversations I had with him at that time would be about the team that we were going to play at the weekend. If we had a training session, he used to tell me ‘well, I would have done something different because this team plays like that' - never discrediting what Arsene [Wenger] was saying, but just offering his view of how he would do it.

“I feel like part of what shaped him is that he came from the Basque country, where their thinking of football is very different to how it is in Barcelona or Paris, where he also was, or say Everton, and I think that's what also makes these great coaches.

“I never had a doubt that he was going to be able to create a successful Arsenal team. Obviously it's very different, it's very difficult for them to be able to compete with Man City in the last few years.”

But they are competing. Over the past couple of seasons, it has been Arteta’s Arsenal taking the gauntlet to Guardiola’s City. They’ve pushed close, but have just fallen short.

Bellerin is remaining positive, excited by what the future might hold: “I think that they are a relatively young squad with young players that have a lot of presence, but are still a few years away from their prime.

“It's crazy to say that Bukayo Saka might be a few years away from his prime still. He’s not in his prime and he's probably already better than 99% of players at their prime."

) Hector Bellerin and Bukayo Saka of Arsenal during the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 match between Arsenal FC and SL Benfica at Karaiskakis Stadium on February 25, 2021

Image credit: Getty Images

One of the hallmarks of Wenger’s tenure was that he was never afraid to give opportunities to young players, including Bellerin. Arteta has already shown that he is no different.

Bellerin said on the similarities: “One of the things that I really like about Mikel is that he’s trying to write his own chapter, but always taking into account the history of the club.

“Arsenal has always been a club where young players wanted to go, because they knew they had a chance, and I think he's been able to follow that.

“He’s created that recipe in which you can tell that the team doesn't play the same football that Wenger played, but that essence is still there.

“When you describe Arsenal and Wenger, it wouldn't be that much different as a concept to how it is today. So many teams can completely change with different managers, but I think Mikel has adapted really well to the history of the club with his ways of working.

“And I think that's the reason he’s gained this success and he’s got people backing him. He’s a young coach, he went straight away to manage Arsenal, which is also very difficult. For a lot of coaches, that’s not a success story, but he’s done it because I think he’s been able to adapt.

Arsene Wenger, Manager of Arsenal speaks to Hector Bellerin of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford on April 29, 2018

Image credit: Getty Images

“The last few years at the club when I was with him, we spoke a lot together about the past, about how to improve the club, what things he needed, what he wanted to change. He was someone who straight away wanted to change the culture at the club, and I think he’s done that really well.

“It’s something that says a lot about him that he never wanted to erase the chapters that were already written, he just wanted to build up on them and I think that’s a very successful story.

“It makes me incredibly happy to just see Arsenal where it is today and this is something that I’ve been reflecting on lately, thinking about my times there.

“I just feel so lucky that I was able to be part of that football club with the people that were there, with how that city embraced me.

“Every year that passes, every season that passes, I become more conscious of how incredible it was and how big Arsenal is. When I was there, I knew how big it was, but now when I'm outside of it, it feels way bigger,

“And I'm not talking about how big they are financially or whatever, but just what they represent and the energy that the club has nowadays.

“Massive credit to not just Mikel, but all the coaches that have been there before and all the players that have been there. I was in the middle of that transition from Wenger and I tell you, it was very hard at times to be part of that dressing room that was expected to do really well but we didn't have the tools to do it.

“So to see that Mikel has been able to cross that bridge, and you see players enjoying it. For example, you see Bukayo now. I was part of the squad when he started to train with the first-team and you see how he's improved, how he enjoys football.

“He's a reference not just at Arsenal level but at country level. Mate, those things, for me, are just a massive prize and I become very emotional.

“I try to watch them every week and if I can’t watch the game, I’ll watch the highlights and I try to keep in touch with some of the players. I’ve been thinking that I really want – if there’s ever a weekend off – to go and watch a game and be back at the stadium as well.

“I used to love playing at the Emirates at 3 o'clock, on a sunny Saturday in August or September. I’m always going to be very attached to the club and I wish them all the success in the world because I truly feel that they deserve it.”

The second part of this exclusive interview with Bellerin will be released on tntsports.co.uk on Thursday.

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