Skip to content

Champions League: Debutant Bellerin says Arsenal couldn't match Dortmund's tempo

Image: Hector Bellerin tackles Borussia's Henrikh Mkhitaryan during Arsenal's opening Champions League match

Hector Bellerin admits Borussia Dortmund's pace of attack put Arsenal on the back foot as he made his Champions League debut in the Gunners' chastening opening match.

The 19-year-old right back was thrown in at the deep end at Borussia's Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday after Arsene Wenger was forced to start with him due to Mathieu Debuchy's ankle injury and Calum Chambers being ill.

The young Spaniard told the club's website it was a dream come true to make his first start in the Champions League but the 2-0 defeat by Borussia proved a baptism of fire.

“They came with so much tempo at the start with their quick players up front,” Bellerin said.

“We tried to start the game with the same tempo as them but we couldn’t, and that’s something we need to work on for our next game.

“But it was a dream come true for me. It’s always your dream as a kid to make your debut in the Champions League. On the other hand, I’m gutted and we’ve just got to work harder in the next game.

“I knew there was a chance of starting during the week with the injury of Mathieu and I found out at training before the game that Calum was feeling a bit ill, so I knew there was a chance.

We tried to start the game with the same tempo as them but we couldn’t, and that’s something we need to work on for our next game.
Hector Bellerin

“I never thought at that moment that I could make my debut here, but when they told me on Tuesday afternoon I was really happy.

"It is what you are waiting for since when you’re a kid and you’re just playing in the playground. I’m just really happy to get it out of the way, to make my debut on a night like this is good for me.

“Playing first-team football is what I want to be doing every weekend. It’s good to get minutes with the under-21s but what you’re here for is to play games with the first team.

"It was a really hard game but I’m glad I got to play here and hopefully there’s many more games to come.”

The Spain U19 international, who joined Arsenal in 2011 from his home city club Barcelona, had only made one previous appearance for the first team, against West Bromwich Albion in the Capital One Cup a year ago.

He spent part of last season on loan to Watford but had impressed Wenger with his performances for Arsenal's youth league and U21 teams. He was part of the first-team squad on their pre-season tour to New York and played in the 2014 Emirates Cup.

Bellerin, who played on the wing as a youngster, also holds Arsenal's club sprint record, having beaten the 40m mark set by Theo Walcott, who himself took the crown from Thierry Henry.

Around Sky