Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin believes Gunners need to suffer losses in order to learn, with the “new identity” being pieced together by Mikel Arteta not about to fall into place “overnight”.
The Gunners have been making positive progress under Arteta as FA Cup and Community Shield successes have been savoured, while two Premier League victories and a place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup have been secured in 2020-21.
Momentum was halted somewhat by a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Monday, showing how far the north London outfit still have to go, but Bellerin sees plenty of cause for optimism.
He told the Gunners’ official website after coming unstuck at Anfield: “I think we are working really, really well.
“I think when you build a new identity, a new way of playing football, it’s not something that happens overnight. It’s something that takes a lot of time, it takes losses, it takes wins, it takes a lot of learning.
“We’ve got new players that have come in this season and they need to get used to the system. So there’s many things but I think we can say that the fight that we put out [against Liverpool], in that sense I’m very proud of the boys and we’ll look forward to the next game playing here.
“We know we’re working really, really well so we’re not going to let this affect us.”