Transfer Centre

Arsene Wenger confirms Hector Bellerin contract talks

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 13 October 2016

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger confirms that the club are looking to extend Hector Bellerin's contract amid reported interest from Manchester City and Barcelona.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that the club are looking to extend Hector Bellerin's contract.

The 21-year-old has established himself as a key player for the Gunners, but his form since breaking into the first team has seen him linked with Manchester City and former club Barcelona.

Bellerin, who also made his Spain debut in May, still has three years remaining on his current contract, but Wenger revealed that an extension is already in the pipeline.

Asked whether he intends to keep hold of Bellerin, Wenger told reporters: "Of course. That is why I'm surprised by the speculation. He has nearly three years to go and we always try to get the players to the level where we think they deserve to be. So we try to extend, certainly, his contract. We will try to extend his contract as well, but for me, his long-term future is here.

"He has been absolutely fantastic. Let's not forget that his first game he had a nightmare when I played him and he was the year before at Watford (on loan) and he didn't play. His progress has been absolutely spectacular because he has absolutely top mental strength; I think he loves as well to be here and he has responsibilities already in the dressing room for such a young age. It's something remarkable.

"I think now that you do not necessarily have to play where you were born. Modern life is not exactly like that and what is important is that the player meets his needs where he is and his values, and I think he integrated very well the values of our club and he came at a very, very young age of 15-and-a-half, 16 years of age. I think he is a real Arsenal player."

Bellerin came through Barcelona's famous La Masia academy before joining Arsenal in 2011.