Hector Bellerin has revealed the secret of his speed – he was born that way.

Hardly a revelation in itself, I think most of us would admit that raw pace like the Spaniard shown is genetic rather than learned (otherwise Olivier Giroud could learn to a little less treacle-like in his running) but Hector has some advice for those wishing to improve on what nature has given them.

“Some people are born fast,” Bellerin said.

“I’ve always been pretty quick for my whole career. It gets to the point that you have to do something about it.

“For the past two years I’ve been working a lot on the power in my legs – all of that has helped me.

“Everything you do off the pitch always shows so you have to work on yourself physically as well, it’s not just working on your touch.

“That’s probably the secret. I doubt I’m the fastest player in the world!

“We took a test in the summer and I broke the club record, so I guess I am the fastest at the club but throughout the season injuries come along and you never know whether you are the fastest player at that exact time.

“It was a surprise for me but it proves that the hard work you do behind the scenes helps you on the pitch.

“I’ve never raced. I’ve only ever played football so I’ve never done athletics.

“It’s helped me throughout my career because speed is a good asset to have.”

Allegedly faster than Usain Bolt over 40 metres, a claim that top athletes have called ‘stupid, no-one is arguing that Bellerin is fast, but there is more to him than just his lightning speed.

A hard worker who gets up and down the pitch with ease, he has developed this season in a way none of us could have imagined in terms of his tackling, positioning and overall defensive play.

As it stands, you’d be hard pushed to make a case for his removal from the side when Mathieu Debuchy regains fitness.

What the boss decides to do, however, is another matter entirely.