Héctor Bellerín

Arsenal

Early career and loan to Watford

Bellerín was first included in an Arsenal squad on 26 September 2012, remaining unused in their League Cup third round 6–1 win at home to Coventry City. He made his competitive debut away to West Bromwich Albion in the same competition the following 25 September, coming on in the 95th minute as a substitute in a penalty shoot-out victory after a 1–1 draw. Two months later, Bellerín joined Championship club Watford on a two-month loan deal, and made his debut against Yeovil Town eight days after signing. The loan at Watford was extended until the end of the season, but he was recalled by Arsenal in February 2014.

2014–15 season: First FA Cup win

Following injuries to Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers and Nacho Monreal, Bellerín made his UEFA Champions League debut on 16 September 2014 in a 2–0 defeat away to Borussia Dortmund. He scored his first goal for Arsenal on 1 February 2015, in a 5–0 win against Aston Villa, and added a second on 4 April to open a 4–1 win over Liverpool despite also conceding a penalty kick through a foul on Raheem Sterling. Bellerín was selected to start for Arsenal in the 2015 FA Cup final on 30 May, helping the team keep a clean sheet in a 4–0 win over Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium.

2015–2018: PFA Team of the Year, second FA Cup win

Bellerín signed a new long-term contract before the 2015–16 season and played the entirety of Arsenal's 1–0 win over rivals Chelsea in…

Having reached the semi-finals of the 2013 UEFA European Championship with the under-19 team, Bellerín made his debut for Albert Celades's under-21 team on 30 March 2015, playing the full 90 minutes of a 4–0 friendly win over Belarus in León. On 29 May 2016, after being named as a stand-by player for the year's European Championship, Bellerín made his debut for the full squad by starting in a 3–1 friendly win against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the AFG Arena in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Two days later, he was chosen for the final squad after Dani Carvajal withdrew through injury. He was unused as they reached the last 16. In November 2020, Bellerín was recalled to the Spain squad for the first time in over four years, as Jesús Navas withdrew through injury. He played in a 1–1 friendly draw away to the Netherlands in his comeback match.

Early in his career Bellerín was known for his pace, which allowed him to take on opposition defenders as well as provide defensive cover. At the beginning of the 2014–15 season, he broke Theo Walcott's 40-metre (130 ft; 44 yd) Arsenal sprint record by 1/100 of a second.

Born in Badalona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Bellerín started his club football career in Barcelona's youth team. He moved to Arsenal in the summer of 2011, and signed his first professional contract the following year. While a youth player at Arsenal, Bellerín also helped the club to reach fourth place of the NextGen Series of 2012–13.