Arsenal sign Tomiyasu

It proved a busy deadline day on the red half of north London this summer, as one right-back departed and another arrived in the final hours of the transfer window.

Hector Bellerin made the move to Real Betis on loan, leaving Edu Gaspar and Mikel Arteta free to finalise a move for Japan and Bologna right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu, their sixth, and final, summer addition.

It meant that it brought an end to a decade that Bellerin had enjoyed at Arsenal, having been at the club since a teenager and won 4 FA Cups with the club in that time.

Bellerin lifts the lid

Now, sitting down with former Arsenal legend Ian Wright on the Ringer FC podcast, the Spaniard has lifted the lid on what happened at Arsenal, and how he ended up leaving the club.

And it all started with the pandemic:

“Quarantine was a crazy moment in my life, because I went through all the stages I could have been in my life in the space of three months. I was really down for a long time, then I was really high for another time, I just had a lot of time to think and I figured out what I want for myself as a person. Not as a football player, as a person.

“Being closer to my family was one of them, being closer to my roots was another one. I never really missed Spain in the first 8 or 9 years, but in the last year I was missing it a lot. I was listening to Flamenco music all the time, I was watching Spanish movies all the time, I was eating Spanish food all the time. Honestly, I was craving it.”

So, how did it come about? Well, Bellerin reveals that it was largely down to Mikel Arteta. The pair have known each other from Arteta’s playing days, and as compatriots perhaps naturally formed a bond.

Hector Bellerin lifts the lid on Arsenal exit and gives his verdict on replacement Takehiro Tomiyasu

LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 21: Granit Xhaka and Hector Bellerin of Arsenal react after the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC at Stamford Bridge on January 21, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

I spoke to Mikel [Arteta] way before my loan, and we had a good friendship as teammates and as a coach/player, and I said to him “At this time, at this moment in my life, I need something else. I don’t want to go anywhere for the money, I just want to be closer to my family, closer to my country”

I was lucky that Mikel is someone who is very understanding, and he knew it was nothing to do with football or [me at] the club or anything. It’s not that I don’t want to play here anymore, it’s just because this is not helping any of us.”

He knows everything I’ve gone through at Arsenal, with my injuries and everything. I was very lucky that I could be open with him and we could have a talk where he understood me fully.

The Spanish defender even revealed that he still loves Arsenal, and catches every game he can while away in Spain, while he was also full of praise for new signing Takehiro Tomiyasu:

“Arsenal are doing amazing and that makes me so happy. The player they got in my position is doing great. There’s literally no hard feelings for me. It’s beautiful to see because I watch every single game and I want the guys to do well.”

“I always say to the club, if I leave this place, I don’t want to leave you guys without, for example, anyone in my position, or in a position when you guys are not in the best terms. I want the best for all of us because I’ve been here for 10 years and I love this place.”

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