'I never even realised!' - Hector Bellerin admits he only comprehended size of Arsenal after exit

Bellerín has admitted that he didn't fully appreciate the magnitude of Arsenal until after he left the club in 2022. The Spanish defender spent over a decade at the Emirates Stadium, but says he was so caught up in the day-to-day bubble of being a footballer that he didn't realise the true scale of the Gunners.

Bellerín joined Arsenal from Barcelona as a 16-year-old in 2011 and quickly established himself as a fans' favourite in north London. The right-back was part of the Arsenal sides that won three FA Cups under Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery, and also helped the club reach the League Cup final in 2018.

Bellerin told The Rest Is Football: "When I was playing for Arsenal, you know, I was really young. I basically became an adult in my time over there.

"And now when I look at Arsenal games, I look at the club, I think like, ‘Wow, this club is so big!’ I never even realised how massive, how important, how many people it affects, how many people support this club – and just how, how big it is, you know?

"I feel like football also doesn’t give you the time to really think about these more existential kind of matters, you know?" he added. "You have like two, three games a week, so just getting ready for the next one, recovering from the one before – so many things happening."

Betis are still in the Europa League and face Jagiellonia Białystok in the second leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final on Thursday. Betis lead 2-0 from the first leg.