Santi Cazorla has urged Arsenal to keep hold of Hector Bellerin, and warned it would be a mistake if the young right-back was prised away from the Emirates.
The 21-year-old Spaniard is the subject of interest from both Barcelona and Manchester City.
Bellerin’s contract at the Emirates does not expire until 2019, and Arsene Wenger has confirmed that he intends to extend the full-back’s stay despite early talks over a new deal.
It’s believed Bellerin currently pockets around £50,000-a-week and Arsenal are willing to increase this figure significantly having proven to be a key member of Wenger’s side, and Cazorla believes his Spanish team-mate would be worth every penny:
‘It is clear that Hector is the right-back of the future. You could see in the victory over Swansea how good he is. He was all over the place and never stopped running.’
Cazorla went on to say:
‘For Arsenal it would be a mistake to let him go. It is obvious that many teams want him. There has been talk about Manchester City and Barcelona. He is a player with great potential and I am sure he will also be a key part of the future of the Spanish national team.’
Although Manchester City have been credited with interest in Bellerin, Barcelona’s interest seems most worrying to Arsenal fans and Wenger – even though it’s been reported that they see Juventus full-back Stephan Lichsteiner as their first choice signing this January.
Would letting Bellerin go be a mistake as Cazorla suggests? In my opinion, yes it would. There aren’t many noticeable right-backs out there at the moment and I do believe we have the best one currently in world football at our club. If we were to lose him, it would be a big blow to the side and a void difficult to fill.
