Arsenal overcame a lacklustre first half on Saturday afternoon and eventually overcame Swansea City 3-0 at the Liberty Stadium. One of the highlights of a well-played second half by the Gunners was a run of play that didn’t even count. With the team clinging to a 1-0 lead and the outcome still very much in doubt, Andre Ayew looked certain to equalise after being sent in on goal and getting around Petr Čech.
Ayew was ruled offside, but the play continued to unfold as no one seemed to notice the assistant’s flag until the passage of play concluded. As the Swansea man shot at goal, right-back Hector Bellerin came from out of nowhere to clear his effort off the line and slammed into the goal post. After a couple of minutes of treatment, the 20-year-old returned to the pitch and helped the team keep a clean sheet against Garry Monk’s men.
For a moment which ultimately counted towards nothing, Bellerin’s hustle and willingness to sacrifice his body for the team has drawn significant attention. Bellerin spoke to Arsenal Player about the moment and what it says about his and the team’s commitment to their cause.
I literally dived in, I didn’t even see the post and the ball but he was offside so it didn’t work! But you always have to try and help, which I did and it is the thing you have to do for the team.
I think everyone has the same purpose this year, we are very focused. We are doing really well and sometimes things are not going to go our way, but even in the first half we were looking a bit shaky and in the second half we did the job.
I think it is important that the team doesn’t give up and plays until the end. That is the same way we want to keep going.
Bellerin and his teammates will need a similar level of commitment during the upcoming week, including a midweek clash with Bayern Munich, who will be eager to exact a measure of revenge for the Gunners’ victory at the Emirates in their prior meeting last week. Following that, the squad will face Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend, a game which is always an intense and passionate affair.
We have to go game by game. We had to focus on Swansea and we knew it was going to be hard. They are a very physical side and they are quick, but now it is time to focus on Wednesday [against Bayern Munich] as we know it is going to be very, very hard.
