After Theo Walcott left, Hector Bellerin thought he was going to be the fastest player at Arsenal but then Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came along.

Aubameyang is notoriously quick – it’s one of the reasons he’s so lethal – but Bellerin reckons he could beat him in a race. And plans on doing so next season.

“I’ve always had this fight with Theo Walcott,” Bellerin said during his talk at the Oxford Union last week, reports the Evening Standard. “He went to Everton and I thought I was going to be the quickest player [at the club].

“Then oh my god, Aubameyang. We’ll see. Next pre-season we’ll do the speed chances [sic]. I fancy my chances.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lYh8z78-4Q

According to a report from Goal in 2013, when the Gabon international first joined Dortmund from Saint-Etienne, he was measured running at 30 metres in 3.7 seconds. That’s around 29.19km/h or 18.14mp/h.

In such a short burst, that’s faster than Usain Bolt.

Aubameyang still wasn’t the fastest player in the Bundesliga though.

It’s hard to say whether the striker has slowed over time. The measurements were taken when he was 24 and he’s 28 now. He’s still quick, but how quick?

In 2015, Bellerin was clocked running 40 metres in 4.41 seconds. That’s 20.29mp/h.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zxDcPCSmCM

Therefore, if those calculations are anything to go by, Bellerin could just about beat Aubameyang over a short distance.

However, anyone who’s watched the 22-year-old over the last year or so will have noticed he appears to have lost a bit of his lightning-quick pace. Whether this is down to fitness or drive we don’t know.

With this in mind, as well as Aubameyang’s competitiveness, I’d say it could be an even race.