Arsenal outcast Hector Bellerin joins boyhood club Real Betis on loan transfer after Gunners’ Takehiro Tomiyasu swoop
ARSENAL outcast Hector Bellerin has joined boyhood club Real Betis on a season-long loan after the Gunners struck a deal to sign Bologna right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu.
The Spanish star, 26, was the Gunners‘ longest-serving player but had been linked with a move away all summer.
Bellerin failed to feature in any of Arsenal’s first three Premier League games, with Calum Chambers and Cedric Soares preferred.
And after ten years in North London – and with Bologna right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu, 22, set to join after Arsenal secured a £19.5m deal – the defender has joined boyhood club Betis.
In a statement on their club website, Arsenal wrote: “Everyone at Arsenal wishes Hector the best of luck with Real Betis this season.”
Bellerin arrived at Arsenal from Barcelona in 2013, then aged just 16, under Arsene Wenger.
The four-cap Spain star spent a season on loan at Watford but quickly forced his way into the Gunners’ first XI on his return.
After becoming the club’s first choice right-back, he quickly gained the admiration of former club Barcelona – but a move never materialised.
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And after falling down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta, Bellerin has finally returned to Spain to play for his boyhood club.
Bellerin won the FA Cup three times and also finished as a runner-up in the League Cup and Europa League in 2018 and 2019 respectively, making 239 appearances in total.
Now new-boy Tomiyasu will hope to have as much – if not more – success than Bellerin after his move to the Emirates.
North London rivals Tottenham were also keen on the Japan ace, but instead completed a £26m move for Emerson Royal.
Arsenal believe Tomiyasu will be able to slot in on the right-hand side of a back four, or in a back three.
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