“Contract now ready” - Fabrizio Romano claims Arsenal star has ‘agreed personal terms’ with potential club
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has agreed personal terms on a contract with Barcelona.
Romano has claimed that the move now depends on whether Barca want to sign the right-back. Bellerin still has a year left on his current deal at the Emirates Stadium but the Gunners are willing to terminate his contract.
Bellerin spent last season on loan at Real Betis, where he enjoyed a successful season as the Spanish side finished fifth in La Liga and won the Copa del Rey. The pacy full-back has fallen out of favor with Mikel Arteta, having spent a decade at the north London club.
The Spaniard arrived from Barcelona's youth academy in 2011 and has since made 239 appearances for Arsenal and won the FA Cup three times. He was also named in the PFA 'Team of the Year' for the 2015-16 season, the last time the Gunners finished in the top four.
With Ben White currently excelling at right-back and Takehiro Tomiyasu also present, Bellerin appears to be surplus to requirements at the club. He looks set to join numerous stars who have had their Arsenal contracts terminated in recent years, including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil.
Mikel Arteta heaps praise on Arsenal for showing great character following win over Aston Villa
Since taking over from Unai Emery in 2019, Arteta has made it his mission to improve the character and belief of his squad. Both those traits were put to the test yesterday (August 31) by Aston Villa, who leveled the scores late in the clash at the Emirates despite being dominated throughout.
Gabriel Martinelli soon put Arsenal back in the lead and Arteta was clearly delighted with his side's efforts. The Spanish boss told reporters after full-time (as per The Mail):
"That's the mentality we want to show as a team and the character we want to show, to react immediately. The disappointment (of) conceding goals is part of the game, like giving the ball away or having a bad action is. It's about the next action, the next phase and again, when you play in front of this crowd that helps."
"The energy they generate is just amazing. We are really happy because we are winning football matches that we deserve to win the way we are performing and playing. We need to continue. As I always said I think there are a lot of things that we can improve and you could see that in the second half."