Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin, a product of Barcelona’s La Massia academy, is looking forward to his return to Camp Nou and hopes to leave as a winner.
The Arsenal defender says that though their Champions League knockout round encounter against Barcelona will be difficult, the Gunners will draw confidence from the fact that they have beaten German giants Bayern Munich in the group stage.
Bellerin also admitted that he was very excited to return to Barcelona, where he had spent 8 years before moving to Arsenal in 2011 at the age of 16.
“I played for Barcelona for eight years, so it’s a massive thing for me and my family, who have been watching me since I was young,” Bellerin said. [via: fourfourtwo.com]
“The day the draw was announced I started getting texts and calls from everyone. It’s crazy how a game moves so many people. We’re very excited – it’s going to be a hard game, but if we did it against Bayern, then we can do it against Barcelona. We have a great team mentality and our confidence is very high, so we fancy anyone at the moment.”
Tough draw for Arsenal
The defending champions Barcelona are one of the favorites to go on and win the title and with the kind of attacking prowess they have displayed this season, it’s not difficult to realize why. Arsenal pulled off the great escape after looking like they’d miss out on qualifying from the group stage, but the draw against Barca proved that they just can’t catch a break this year in the Champions League.
The Gunners are having a good run in the Premier League though, and if that form translates onto the pitch in the game against Barca, then they will fancy their chances of eking out a win and progression to the quarter finals.