According to recent reports, the reigning Premier League right back of the year, Hector Bellerin, is “waiting for the call” from Barcelona. claims that the Gunners star will be a transfer target by the Catalan club, with whom Bellerin spent eight years of his youth with, come January due to the potential departure of Aleix Vidal.

The 21-year-old Bellerin is viewed as one of the hottest prospects in all of Europe at the moment, and Barca are not the only team to have their sights set on bringing in the defender.  Manchester City, managed by former Barca coach Pep Guardiola, are also supposedly keen on making a move for Bellerin.  However, a switch to City for the Arsenal man seems less than likely.

One thing helping Arsenal fans sleep at night is the fact that Bellerin appears happy in north London.  Just a few months ago the right back claimed to be feeling at “home” with the Gunners.  “I say every year that England is my home now,” Bellerin stated.  ”I’ve lived there for many years; my family and my girlfriend are there.  I’m very happy so I don’t see myself anywhere other than at Arsenal.”

Although Arsenal were known to sell some of their star players over the last decade or so, the need to do so for financial reasons appears to be over.  In previous years, Gunners brass was making decisions to sell players such as Aleksandr Hleb, Emmanuel Adebayor, Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie, and Cesc Fabregas at a profit to help pay off their state-of-the-art Emirates Stadium.

However, with the stadium finances now under control, the Gunners should not feel the need to have to sell some of their best, young players.  Bellerin was included in last season’s PFA Team of the Year and is widely considered the best right back plying their trade in England.

What makes the U-21 Spain international special is his world-class speed, along with his passing ability as well.  The paramount moment in Bellerin’s Arsenal career is most likely his unbelievable run and assist against Bayern Munich during last season’s Champions League.  The mesmerizing play by the young defender quickly became the focal point of dozens of YouTube videos.

Bellerin also spent time during his youth Arsenal career playing in the midfield, which certainly aided his ability moving forward with the ball.  There currently isn’t a better full back in the Premier League with the ball at his feet.

Since start of 2015/16 Premier League season:

Not only can the speedster help out his more offensive teammates, but he’s also superb at tracking back defensively.  Much like his assist against Bayern last year, video clips of his likely goal-saving tackles on Swansea City’s Bafetimbi Gomis and Chelsea’s Pedro were also circulating social media quite frequently.

The right back’s current contract isn’t set to expire until 2019, and manager Arsene Wenger is hopeful to lock down his star defender for even longer if it fends off potential interest by both Barcelona and Manchester City.  “[Bellerin] has nearly three years to go and we always try get the players to the level where we think they deserve to be,” the manager claimed on Thursday.  “So we try to extend, certainly, his contract.  For me, his long-term future is here.”

With Bellerin apparently happy in north London, and the Gunners financially stable, it seems unlikely that the defender is going anywhere soon.