Arsenal fans poured their anger on me ... I just had to man up and deal with it
Hector Bellerin hopes Cup glory can ease pain of troubled season
THE morning after the night before, Hector Bellerin climbed into his car and headed south to the Hampshire coast. The plan was to run until he cleared his mind of a bruising defeat at Crystal Palace which proved to be the nadir of a chastening season and the moment Arsenal’s frustrated supporters let rip at their own players.
‘ It was great therapy,’ said Bellerin. ‘I was born by the seaside and I love to see the beach, it’s always felt like home. We had a few hours off so I took the chance to drive down, go for a run and forget a bit of everything.
‘ I haven’t done it often this season and, after that game, I thought I needed to do it.’
When he was deployed on the flank nearest the Arsenal fans, Bellerin was a target for the abuse as he retrieved the ball for a throwin. And again when he went to acknowledge supporters after the match.
They told him he wasn’t fit to wear the shirt, an insult designed to provoke. And also one which seemed particularly unfair on a 22year- old full back who has been outstanding since he graduated to the first team, but he was prepared to take his medicine.
‘ It’s something you’ve got to deal with,’ said Bellerin. ‘ When you win you’re going to get fans chanting your name and when you don’t do great they’re going to give you stick.
‘Fans were coming to me after saying: “Hector, it wasn’t directed at you, it was the whole team, you were there because you had a throw-in and the situation put you there.”
‘But, whatever way, it is part of football and I understand. I am a football fan, I’ve watched football my whole life. When my favourite team didn’t do well I’d get angry.
‘In that sense, I understand the fans in that situation. They need to pour their anger on me. Fair play. In that game, for example, I wasn’t playing at my top level. I need to man up and deal with it.
‘You get the perks of football and the cons. That’s one of the things that’s going to happen. When you’re angry you can say something you don’t mean. Everyone’s got their opinion and sometimes it’s going to hurt.’
Seven weeks later, Arsenal have won eight of nine games and Bellerin is flying as a wing-back in Arsene Wenger’s new formation, celebrating his first goal of the season last Sunday against Everton.
Unfortunately for Wenger’s team, the late flourish was not enough to propel them into the top four and they will be absent from the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.
‘ It’s disappointing,’ said Bellerin. ‘Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win the league.
‘When we missed that, our priority was to be in the Champions League. We’ve been doing it for so many years. We had a tough period with the Champions League and those games against Bayern Munich really hurt us. Then in the league we couldn’t pick up the form after that.’ Wenger tried to shoulder the blame, claiming the uncertainty around his own future had created an ‘ horrendous’ environment which stifled the players. ‘This year it’s down to us,’ admitted Bellerin. ‘We weren’t playing at the level required. The manager has always been able to compete at the top through the years with different players. He’s won the Premier League. Last year we finished second. ‘We’re Arsenal and people want the best from us. Everyone writes us off early and when you don’t win for a couple of games everything is going crazy. ‘ Sometimes we overthink it. Everyone has ups and downs in football. Look at Chelsea. Last year they didn’t get into Europe, this year they’ve won the league. ‘ You cannot stay stuck in the past thinking, “why didn’t we get into the top four?”. We’re in the Europa League and d we’re’ goingi tot play 100 per cent to win the games we have.’ Perhaps the experience at Selhurst Park jolted Arsenal to their senses, just as a 3-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium in September proved Chelsea’s catalyst for change. ‘It was one of our best games of the season. One of those you don’t want to end, it was a joy. Chelsea are a big rival, always a team we want to beat. Hopefully we can emulate it in the FA Cup. ‘ In the league, they deserve to be winners. They’ve been consistent and played some great football. But this is a final, one game and it’s a competition we love. ‘ We’re going to grab our chance because we need to make amends for the rest of the season and hopefully go home with the FA Cup. The fans will be happy and we’ll be happy as players. When you’re a kid thinking of being a footballer you’re thinking about lifting trophies.’
BELLERIN won the FA Cup two years ago, when Arsenal beat Aston Villa 4-0 in the final to retain the trophy.
‘It’s very special to me,’ said the Spain international. ‘At the beginning of that season I didn’t know if I was going out on loan. I didn’t know if the boss wanted me to stay. I didn’t know what my season was going to look like. Then I ended up starting in the FA Cup final and winning it.’
Arsenal confidence has been revived by the good run of form and especially the win against Manchester City in the semi-final at Wembley.
‘It was our second game with a different system,’ said Bellerin. ‘Everyone was looking at us and thinking, “well, they beat Middlesbrough but can they do it against City?”
‘We had to show character. We hadh dt to showh we were still till hereh and d wanted to play in the final. We had to show this was really important for us no matter how we were doing in other competitions.
‘That’s what the team showed. We showed the system works well with the players we’ve got. You defend with more people and the attacks are more dynamic. Sometimes it just clicks.’
Bellerin turned out against City with his hair in cornrows for the first time. It caused quite a stir on social media. ‘ I got a lot of comments, good and bad,’ he smiled as he ran his fingers through his hair and shook his lustrous locks for comic effect.
‘I had the same hair for two years and I wanted to change. I just thought I’m going to change it up for Wembley.
‘That’s just me. I like to switch it up now and again. And it’s good for people to get to know me. I don’t think it will be the last time. They definitely worked in that game. They were my lucky braids.’
Bellerin joined Arsenal from Barcelona at the age of 16 and signed a new contract last year tying him to the Emirates until 2023, although the clamour in the Spanish media for his return to the Nou Camp has not subsided.
‘ I signed my contract for a reason,’ said Bellerin. ‘I signed it because I wanted to be here. I wouldn’t have done it otherwise.
‘Arsenal is the club that gave me the chance to be a professional and since the first time I met with the boss he’s always said if I progressed the right way I could be an Arsenal player for a long time.
‘I’ve been here nearly six years and I love London. I’m still discovering the city.
‘The other day, I was out in the car in east London thinking I’d never been there before. That’s what I like about the city.’
New experiences and not too far from a little coastal therapy.
Hector Bellerin is an ambassador for Head & Shoulders. You can watch Hector guide YouTuber ChrisMD through a training challenge on YouTube now.