Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin feels he’s back to his best after injury woes of last season

Wing-back hasn’t managed 20 league appearances in a season for the past two campaigns

Hector Bellerin is a regular again for Arsenal (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Hector Bellerin says he feels back to his best on a physical level, after a struggle with injury in 2019/20.

The Arsenal man struggled for fitness early on last campaign after recovering from a long-term knee problem, and although he played plenty after lockdown, it’s only after the summer that he feels his body has returned to normal.

A regular again on the right side under Mikel Arteta, Bellerin says he put in the hard yards over the shortened close season and he’s now reaping the benefits—though it’s the team’s form which has him happier than his own fitness.

“I feel that coming back from my long-term injury was very difficult for me,” he said.

“I felt like once I was back, my knee felt okay but really my body in general wasn't in the same place as it was pre-injury and I felt during lockdown I had the chance to focus on myself and do the dirty work, as you'd say.

“I've come back from it way stronger, I kept working through the summer and now I feel like I'm back to how I felt two minutes before that injury.

“So yeah, for me it feels good.

"But the most important thing is that the team is playing better and better every day and that's what makes me happy.”

Arsenal have impressed for the most part early on this season, winning the Community Shield and their first two league games of the season, but losing to Liverpool on Monday night.

They again face the league champions in the EFL Cup on Thursday, when Bellerin may watch on as a rotated side plays instead.