Wednesday, 17th September, 2014
Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin is hoping to build on his first Champions League appearance for the Gunners last night by cementing a spot in the side.
Bellerin, who broke Theo Walcott's 40-metre speed record in Arsenal training, was drafted into the starting line-up against Borussia Dortmund last night after right-backs Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers were ruled out of action.
Arsenal went down to a 2-0 defeat in Germany, but although that took some of the gloss off Bellerin's full Champions League debut, it did leave him wanting more.
"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", he told his club's site.
"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.
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"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."
And now the 19-year-old is keen to feature on a regular basis for Arsene Wenger's men, with senior action on another level to the Under-21 Premier League he often turns out in.
"[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", he added.
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