If I told you that an Arsenal man had created more chances than anyone else in Europe’s top leagues, who would you guess it to be?
First up you’d probably think Mesut Ozil and I’d tell you to pay more attention to headlines. You’d probably follow that up by saying Santi Cazorla and then you’d start going through the side – Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey. You’d be wrong, wrong, wrong because…dum dum dum…it’s Hector Bellerin.
Yes, that’s right, according to Opta, the young fullback who was prised away from Barcelona’s academy, has created six clear cut chances this season – more than any other player (except Filip Kostic who shares top spot) in the top five leagues across Europe.
That’s one more than Lionel Messi, Isco and Santi.
Grabbing his chance in the side after a series of injuries to Mathieu Debuchy, the 20-year-old has excelled in ways I don’t think many of us imagined and it looks so unlikely that Debuchy will get his spot back he is already being linked with a move away from the club in January ahead of the Euros.
Long may his form continue on this upward trajectory.