Arsenal: Gunners 'underestimated AS Monaco' in Champions League, reveals Hector Bellerin

Hector Bellerin has admitted that Arsenal underestimated AS Monaco during the Champions League knockout stages.

The first leg at the Emirates saw the Gunners suffer a 1-3 defeat, but the north London club went on to win the away leg 2-0. However, they failed to qualify for the next stage of Europe's elite club competition as the Ligue 1 outfit progressed on away goals after drawing 3-3 on aggregate.

"In the Champions League maybe we should have done things better. Perhaps we underestimated Monaco," Bellerin told Marca.

The Spaniard left Barcelona in 2013 and made a switch to the Premier League, signing his first professional contract with the north London club at the age of 16. Injuries to Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers forced Arsene Wenger to start with the 20-year-old in the right-back position earlier this season.

Bellerin has established himself as a first team regular at Arsenal, making 19 appearances in all competitions so far for the Gunners this season. The defender has claimed that he is playing in one of the best leagues in the World and believes that he would have struggled to break into Barcelona's first team, if he had continued with the Catalan club.

"I got the chance and I took it. Wherever you are, you have to work. If I'd stayed at Barcelona, I don't know if I'd have made it to the elite, you just never know," Arsenal defender said.

"I've worked as hard as I could and always had the mentality of reaching the top. Whether I was in one place or another, I'd have done the same."

"A lot of people in Spain watch Premier League games and know what kind of a league it is. It would be madness to say that it isn't among the best leagues in the world. The Spanish league is also at a very high level, with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico [Madrid].

"The atmosphere in England is incredible. I was on loan for a short time at Watford, who are in the Championship, and we played at Leeds in front of 40,000 spectators. Spanish players miss going to a stadium and finding it full," the Spanish right-back concluded.