Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin opens up about the positive impact Mikel Arteta’s ‘big brother’ has had on his career and reveals that he kept him out of trouble after ‘something bad’ when he made Gunners break
- Hector Bellerin says Mikel Arteta was like a ‘big brother’ at the beginning of his career
- The right back broke into the Arsenal team while his current boss was a player
- Bellerin admitted he was ‘bold’ when he started at the Gunners
- But Arteta was supportive and made sure the defender stayed out of trouble
Hector Bellerin says Mikel Arteta has been like a ‘big brother’ and admitted that he tried to keep him out of trouble when he made his first team.
The Spaniard joined Arsenal in 2011, with Bellerin joining as a Barcelona scholar while Arteta moved from Everton.
The right-back, who has been Arteta’s vice-captain ever since, admitted he was ‘bold’ in Arsenal’s early days but was kept on track by team-mates and the manager. his present.
Hector Bellerin says Mikel Arteta was like a ‘big brother’ in his early days at Arsenal
The defender speaks openly in a new documentary series – ‘Unseen Journey’ – which continues to recover from and recover from anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
‘I was only at Arsenal for a year or two, Mikel was one of the captains in the dressing room, he was part of this Spanish group we had and he looked after me.
‘When I was young, I was a little bold, I started earning money, I started meeting girls, I started going out, those are the things that everyone does at that age.
The right back admitted he was ‘bold’ when he was young at the club
‘But not everyone I was responsible for at the time, starting to play for Arsenal’ s first team.
‘He was like a big brother, when I did something wrong, he looked at me and I was like:‘ Oh, I shouldn’t have done that. ‘Sometimes you need people to be honest with you. ‘
Bellerin also admitted that he spent too much time going out and drinking while injured from his knee from January 2019 to the beginning of last year.
The defender gave credit to one of Arsenal’s position coaches for getting him back on track before returning to help the club win the FA Cup at the end of the 2019-2020 campaign.
Arteta is now manager of the Gunners and served as the club’s defensive vice-captain
‘At a time when I wasn’t competing, it wasn’t me because I didn’t have football, my life, I didn’t forget those things – going out, drinking , not taking care of myself as I should.
‘I remember one day, one of Barry’ s cooling coaches, he ‘s a good friend of mine, he said to me: “Hector, I know what you’re doing, man. I know you can tell go for a drink, only you will have one beer, but I know what you are doing. This is not the way to get better. “
‘You don’t always get that in football where there’s such a big difference between staff and the players. He was honest with me, he opened my eyes and from that day on, I was like: ‘Hector, what the f *** are you going for, get your s *** together. ‘
There are many trends and reductions in this process. He told me to be the best I could be, you can do all the exercises, all the stuff, the charts, but it’s also about the other 18 hours at the training ground. ‘
