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Hector Bellerin opens up on dealing with alcohol addiction

Speaking to YouTuber Timbsy, Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin has revealed that he turned to alcohol when trying to deal with injuries.

The Spaniard has had a rough time since his ACL injury back in January of 2019 which had led to a lengthy absence and even after coming back, there were further problems with his hamstring that made the defender miss a few games.

The club’s longest serving player claimed that it was a dark spell in his life and also spoke about getting addicted to alcohol. He told Timbsy:

“It was the first time that I had got injured like that, and I had friends and team-mates that had gone through it before, I had my family next to me, but I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen to me.

“I talk about an experience when I came back and I wasn’t really training, and I started going out a lot, I started drinking and all this stuff and you know for a footballer that’s not what you’re supposed to say but it’s the truth.”

The player also spoke about London and the responsibility of being a footballer:

“Obviously London is a town that offers a lot of distractions and it’s really easy when you don’t feel you have a responsibility – obviously I knew I had to recover, but I didn’t have to train or play – my mind kind of just went elsewhere.”

This admission from the full-back is a sobering reminder for the fans that their heroes are also human beings at the end of the day. It is not easy to recover from an ACL injury but to Bellerin’s credit, the defender has managed to do that on occasion.

As the Gunners’ longest serving member and an ambassador for a number of social causes, the Spaniard is one of the more beloved figures at the club. With reports linking him with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, fans will certainly miss him if he leaves.

Since arriving in England as a teenager, Bellerin has matured into a fine defender who has helped Arsenal win some silverware. But it appears that he is at a crossroads in his career and a potential change of scene could get him back to his best.

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