Arsenal: Barcelona Vice-President's Bellerin Comments Massively Concerning
Barcelona’s vice-president Jordi Mestre has lauded the praise over Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin, a concerning development for the Gunners.
Selling players has been an activity of great pain for many Arsenal fans in recent history. Thanks to financial constraints due to the move to the Emirates, Arsene Wenger has severely handcuffed in his ability to sign new players and in contract negotiations with current stars.
However, with the move to the Emirates only moving further and further into the past, the issues that Wenger has had to overcome are certainly easing, as evidenced by his far greater activity in the transfer window. Nonetheless, with a growing and developing squad, consisting of growing and developing players, clubs around Europe will eventually come sniffing for the best talents.
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Such a scenario is beginning to play out in North London with musings that both Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are in contract talks with failure potentially leading to their exits. Another example is right-back Hector Bellerin, who is the subject of interest from Barcelona, as comments from their vice-president, Jordi Mestre, seemingly confirm:
“We’ve already seen him as a Cule [Barcelona follower]. He’s a great player, there’s no doubt about that. Wenger convinced him to move and promised him something which we couldn’t. We could not promise him that within two years he would be playing in Dani Alves’ place. Look at the cases of Cesc [Fabregas], [Gerard] Pique, [Jordi] Alba and Denis Suarez … I hope the same thing will happen with [Sergi] Samper too. It’s positive that [these players] get minutes at other clubs. It is a dynamic which has always provided good results for players that carry the Barça DNA in their blood.”
Such comments do strongly suggest that the Catalan giants have a fancy for their former defender. As Mestre’s comments detail, Barca have been able to lure back many former youngsters throughout recent history as the Gunners have experienced themselves with the Cesc Fabregas transfer saga of 2012.
In regards to Bellerin, if Wenger is complacent and naive in contract negotiations once again, then Barca’s interest could turn the head of the Spaniard. Bellerin, like Fabregas before him, has stated of his respect for his boyhood club, and after the departure of Dani Alves in the summer, defecting to Italian club Juventus, there is little concern of a lack of playing time.
In a concerning development for Arsenal fans, Bellerin moving to Barcelona makes sense. Their interest has been rumoured for some time, but with Jordi Mestre’s recent comments, Wenger will have to be attentive if he wants to keep hold of his star right-back.