Bellerin signs new Arsenal contract

Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has signed a long-term contract extension to end speculation over his future.

The Spain international, 21, had been heavily linked with a return to former side Barcelona, while Pep Guardiola was reportedly interested in taking him to Manchester City.

The agreement for Bellerin comes as a major boost to Arsenal, who are also locked in renewal negotiations with star players Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, both of whom are out of contract in 2018.

“I’m really, really happy and this club is my home right now,” Bellerin told Arsenal Player. “I’ve been here for more than five years now so I was really, really excited when the club told me that they wanted to extend my contract.

“I wasn’t thinking about anything else other than staying here and continuing my development here. This is where I’m happy. I’m just very grateful and pleased to have signed.

“Now I’ve just got to keep on progressing, keep working hard to be the best player I can be, and hopefully help the team to be where its got to be, to win some silverware.

“That’s what everyone wants and that’s what I’m working towards.”

Bellerin joined Arsenal’s academy from Barca in 2011 and made his debut in September 2013.

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Following a loan spell at Watford, the right-back established himself in the Gunners’ first-team from the 2014-15 campaign and was named in the PFA Team of the Year last season.

Bellerin was an ever-present in the 2016-17 Premier League, until suffering an ankle injury on international duty with Spain’s Under-21 team earlier this month. He missed Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United and is expected to spend four weeks on the sidelines.