Former Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has admitted that his time at the club made him a footballer, as he arrived from Barcelona needing to learn plenty.
[AS have an interview](https://www.sport.es/es/noticias/barca/hector-bellerin-corazon-tira-arsenal-117081350) with the Real Betis defender today in which he talks about his former clubs, Arsenal and Barcelona, and his hope of seeing them face each other in the Champions League final.
Bellerin came through the youth ranks at Barcelona before moving to Arsenal’s U18 side in a €500,000 deal in 2011.
He worked his way up through the ranks at the Emirates from there and moved into the first team in 2014, before going on to make 239 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions, with a record of nine goals and 28 assists.
He went from a boy to a man in London before eventually returning to Barcelona on a free transfer in 2022. He would only manage seven appearances in Barcelona’s first team before a year in Portugal with Sporting Club de Portugal and his eventual move to current club Real Betis.
Now he can simply watch his former clubs as a fan, and admits his head is with Arsenal given the life experience he had with them.
_“There’s also one thing: Mikel (Arteta), who was my teammate, told me to come here,”_ he said.
_“On my debut, they substituted me for him. I started as a central midfielder when Wenger told me, ‘Get in front of the defence and don’t lose the ball’…_
_“When Mikel arrived as coach, it was an incredible football lesson, I don’t know what Pep is like, but Mikel is amazing. And with the analysts he works with… a lot of Spaniards._
_“Arsenal made me a footballer because when I arrived there, there were a lot of things I hadn’t learned. My heart leans a little more toward Arsenal. I hate to say it, but… The beautiful thing would be for both of them to reach the final and for them to decide between themselves.”_