Reports were everywhere on Monday that Arsenal are set to offer Hector Bellerin a new five-year deal to ward off interest from Manchester City, Pep ‘grubby hands’ Guardiola and his former ‘more than a’ club, Barcelona.

This is not the first time we’ve been told a new deal for the Spaniard is imminent.

Signing a new deal in 2015, we’ve since heard that contract talks began in June with a deal expected to be agreed, regardless of any interest from City, or even Barcelona for that matter.

It was then claimed that any new deal would be dependent on Arsene Wenger remaining as manager.

It’s almost as if half these journos just reach for whatever rumour is handiest to pad out their stories.

Is a story about the most talented and exciting right-back in the world signing a new deal to pledge his future to Arsenal not a big enough story for you?

It seems not.

The Mirror claim that talks will begin after the international break despite the reports that stated they were underway months ago. The Mirror also claim that Bellerin is ambitious and wants to win things, kind of in the same sort of way you would describe a fish as being ‘wet’.

Of course he’s ambitious and wants to win things. He’s a professional footballer.

The Mirror's headline
The Mirror’s headline

They also claim that Arsenal are hoping their big spending and great start to this season will persuade him to stay, a line we hear about every contract renewal, regardless of who it is. It’s a nothing piece of additional text, designed to make readers think the author has inside information when they don’t.

The Sun also claim that talks will begin after the international break, despite covering the story in June which claimed they’d already begun. It’s almost as if these redtops just copy each other without doing any actual investigations themselves. Not even a search of their own website.

The Sun's headline
The Sun’s headline

Enough of the nonsense, what of this new deal?

Well, it’s hard to know any specifics, mostly because all of the details in every report I read are so obvious, a five-year-old could foresee them.

Bumper payrise

Of course he’s going to get a bumper payrise, players usually do when they get a new deal and they certainly do when they are young and supremely talented.

Five-years

That’s standard.

If you had to guess at what sort of length they’d offer him (ha) you’d say five because he’s 21. It’s very rare to get a player to sign a deal longer than that, and a four-year deal is simply too short and handed to older players.

Done to fend of City and Barcelona

Well, no.

Bellerin has three years left on his current deal and has said on more than one occasion that he’s happy, happy, happy at Arsenal where he is having a great time.

Arsenal have no need to sell and when you have a content player, a contract in place, and no incentive to sell, the phrase ‘go f**k yourself’ is all they need to fend off City and Barcelona.

The truth

Arsenal will offer Bellerin a new long-term deal with a bumper payrise for no other reason that he deserves a payrise and he’s a fantastic player they want to keep at the club.

If you are excelling at your job, your boss no doubt knows a payrise will be one of many ways they can stop you from getting restless.

This has nothing to do with City, or Barca.

It’s solely about Arsenal and Hector Bellerin.

Why can’t that be enough of a story?