Hector Bellerin claims that he relishes competition for his position but plans to prove to Arsene Wenger that he’s the right man to start.

Bellerin admits that he’s not used to being left out and watching the team play from the sidelines, which means he’s going to give ‘100%’ in training ahead of the new season in order to show Arsene Wenger that he’s the right man for the job.

“This season is about holding my spot,” the speedster explained, reports the Daily Star.

“I had a tough spell where I had a few injuries and there was a change of system.

“It was hard being on the sidelines. It was a new situation for me. But that’s football. You need to adapt.”

He added, “To have competition is good for you. It pushes you to improve.

“I need to train 100% and show the manager I’m the right player to play.”

Last season, the right-back made 42 appearances in total and missed nine games with an ankle problem he experienced in November, and then again in January.

The 22-year-old bounced back from the first month out pretty well, featuring for 65 minutes against Stoke and bagging himself an assist, before playing a full 90 the following game.

The second time, he took a few more games to return to the starting lineup.

However, perhaps the pivotal point for the Spaniard was Arsenal’s 3-0 loss away to Crystal Palace, which saw Bellerin booed off the pitch by his own fans after a terrible performance.

The next match against Middlesbrough, Wenger switched to a 3-4-3 formation for the first time ever and Bellerin was benched.

Although the floppy-haired one was gradually introduced back into the fold as a right wing-back, it took some getting used to, and the lightning-quick prodigy become a little less exciting to watch.

Along with most of the squad, Bellerin had started to improve towards the end of the 2016/17 but there’s still work to do across the board.

Now that the Barcelona links appear to have dried up, hopefully the youngster can concentrate on getting back to his best.