Inclusion of Hector Bellerin in the starting eleven ahead of highly experienced Mathieu Debuchy in the vital clash against arch-rivals Chelsea raised a lot of eyebrows, but the youngster rose up to the occasion making vital interceptions and an all-important goal-line clearance.
The former Barcelona winger admitted that the game against Chelsea had massive importance and added that the Gunners had known that their impressive run of form would only make things tougher against the champions-elect.
a It was a really big game, a really tough game. We had to rise to the occasion because Chelsea have a really good team and theya ve shown that throughout the season. We were on a strong run, so we knew it was going to be tough.a
The Gunners did not seem to threaten the resolute Chelsea defense in the second half as they managed to do in the first, but the twenty-year-old believes that they, however, did the Chelsea business well in the second half of the nail-biting encounter at the Emirates Stadium. He stated that Arsenal deserved to win hands down given the multitude of chances that they had failed to convert throughout the ninety minutes.
a We didna t have many chances in the second half but the team worked really hard, we stopped them really well and did well on their counter-attacks. We probably deserved a bit more because we had a few chances, especially in the first half, but thata s the way games go. Sometimes you win, sometimes you dona t and thata s what happened here.a
Often lauded for his contribution to attack, Hector Bellerin has also bagged two goals this season including a perfectly taken shot past Simon Mignolet in the rout of Liverpool at Emirates Stadium. The youngster cited his times as a winger for his attacking ability and also claimed that he did exactly what he had always wanted to against Chelsea.
a As people know I used to be a winger before, so I like to get forward a lot. Thata s probably the best thing about my game. I just try to help the team at both ends of the pitch and I think I did that.a
Hector Bellerin, at a very tender age, has now got impeccably accustomed to playing for a club like Arsenal against the European elites and is set to make the return of Carl Jenkinson to his beloved club look improbable, while also destabilizing the status of Mathieu Debuchy as an automatic starter.