Arsenal transfer news: Conversation with Arsene Wenger sealed Emirates move, says Hector Bellerin

Hector Bellerin has revealed that his move to Arsenal was sealed after he had a one on one conversation with Arsene Wenger, who assured him about his role in the squad. The defender has been a major success story for the Gunners over the past year and has established himself as an irreplaceable part of the Gunners line-up.

Bellerin signed from Barcelona as a 15-year-old, days before he was about to sign his first professional contract with the Catalans. The Spaniard had been flown down to the Emirates for the weekend when he talked to the manager and also attended a game against Manchester United where he remembers Aaron Ramsey getting his name on the scoresheet in a 1-0 win for the Gunners.

The interaction with the entire Arsenal management and their vision for the youngster going forward convinced Bellerin to take the next step and commit his future to Arsenal. The Catalan has come a long way since a disastrous performance against Borussia Dortmund in the group stages of the Champions League last season, when he was skinned by an effervescent German side.

However, his coming of age story was scripted against Manchester City in the league earlier this year at the Etihad, when he came on for an injured Mathieu Debuchy and put in an impressive performance to secure a 2-0 win for the north London club.

"When you get to 16 at Barcelona, it's the age that you sign your main contract. I was about to sign that but we knew there were a lot of other options because you always get them from other teams at that time," Bellerin told Arsenal's official website.

"I didn't have the option to come to Arsenal until I was right about to sign with Barcelona. When it came, they were so serious about it, more serious than any other team. They made me feel really wanted. I came here for a weekend. I met the boss and I remember I went to the game. We beat Man United and I remember Ramsey scoring. I still have all those images in my mind.

"To be 16 years old, to be able to speak to the boss and get reassured that they really wanted me, plus seeing all the facilities at the training ground and how easy they were going to make it for me to adapt, it all made me tell my parents that I wanted to come here.

"I remember I was on the plane back and I already said to my mum that I wanted to come to Arsenal. My mum was like 'are you sure you can leave your family and friends?' But there was something inside telling me this was the right choice to make and at the moment, I'm very happy that I made that step," he added.