Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin is apparently unlikely to remain at the Emirates next season despite being set to return to north London in the coming weeks. The Spaniard has spent the season on loan with Real Betis in La Liga but his spell is set to come to an end with his next move unknown.
With the arrival of Takehiro Tomiyasu in the summer and Cedric Soares also available, Mikel Arteta decided the time was right for Bellerin to seek alternative opportunities. And so he moved to Betis where he has impressed, producing five assists across 32 games and helping them to a Copa Del Rey title.
The 27-year-old will still have a year remaining on his Arsenal contract come the end of the season and it remains to be seen what his next move will be. Earlier this year Arteta was asked about the future of the Hale End graduate and insisted that as things stood, they were continuing to plan around Bellerin.
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"Any player with a contractual obligation with us is our player and considered our player,’"Arteta told a press conference in April. "So every plan is considering that possibility [that Bellerin stays] and how they can fit into the team."
Bellerin spent seven seasons in the Arsenal first-team before his move away last summer, racking up 239 appearances in that time. Those seven years were frequently interrupted by injuries, limiting the attributes that once made him such an impressive talent.
Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano insists the right-back will be playing elsewhere next season too, despite Arteta's planning. Asked whether or not Bellerin would be returning to Arsenal on Rio Ferdinand's FIVE Youtube channel, Romano replied: "His contract is expiring with Betis. So at the moment yes but I don't see him staying at Arsenal."
