Hector Bellerin has astounded everyone this season.
Drafted into the side to cover when all our defenders were injured, he has grown rapidly into a player who can legitimately claim to be a top-drawer right-back.
Scoring the second goal of his Arsenal career with a lovely curled effort with his weaker foot (no matter what Brendan Rodgers said, it was not a ‘poor’ goal), Bellerin impressed once again, despite being fortunate not to receive a second yellow for his foul on Raheem Sterling in the box.
Asked about the young Spaniard, who arrived at the club from Barcelona three years ago, Wenger said “He’s one of the surprises of the season.
“He was at Watford on loan last year and didn’t get the games.
He’s just 20 years old, if you look at what he does at 20 years of age… He played against a great player today in Sterling in the second half.
“Maybe he still has some experience to gain but defending one against one is good and going forward is good as well. He scored an important goal in a big game and that always shows that the guy has the mental quality to be there.”
If you’d asked fans at the start of the season which players would enjoy a breakout year, I doubt many would have picked Hector Bellerin, Francis Coquelin or Nacho Monreal.
But, here we are in April, and those three have been integral to Arsenal’s great run of form and league-climbing exploits.