Could Inter’s Hakimi replace Bellerin at Arsenal?

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 6 min read

Hector Bellerin appears to be on his way out of Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta not appearing to fancy the Spaniard and Calum Chambers being preferred at right-back in recent weeks; could Inter’s Achraf Hakimi be the man to replace him this summer?

AS have reported that Arsenal are heavily interested in the Moroccan international, and see him as the perfect replacement for Bellerin.

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Real Madrid included a clause in his Inter contract that allows them to essentially have first dibs if another club moves for him, but the fact they sold him for just £36 million off the back of his stellar loan spell at Borussia Dortmund suggests they aren’t particularly fond of him.

That gives Arsenal free reign at a move, but with Inter reportedly willing to accept of around £45m, they may face competition, and he may well be out of their price range, unless they can sell Bellerin for a sizeable amount.

Furthermore, Hakimi is set to win Serie A with Inter this season and compete in the Champions league next year, so it seems unlikely that he would accept such a downgrade to a struggling Arsenal side.

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A post shared by Achraf Hakimi (@achrafhakimi)

In addition to this, Hakimi has only really played as a wing-back in his senior career, and his immense attacking output suggests that this is the ideal role for him, rather than as a traditional full-back.

Would he fit in at Arsenal?

Hakimi vs Bellerin

Using statistics from their league campaigns this season, it’s clear that Hakimi does hold a significant advantage over Bellerin.

Hakimi does play further forward than Bellerin, but it’s evident that the Inter man would be an upgrade on the Spaniard, and whilst there are concerns that Hakimi isn’t good enough defensively to play in a back four, Arteta should be able to work around this; perhaps by moving to a back three in attack with Kieran Tierney shuffling across, allowing Hakimi to bomb forward.

Right-back is clearly an issue at Arsenal; left-back is sorted with Tierney, but they need to sort out the other flank. The major stumbling block, however, is that they likely won’t be able to offer Champions League football, and this could be crucial in their bid to sign Hakimi.