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Real Betis have confirmed that full-back Hector Bellerín is returning to Arsenal now that his loan spell is about to end.
However, they have not ruled out a return for the player at some point in the future, after he helped the club he supported as a boy win their first trophy since 2005, when they beat Valencia in the Spanish Cup final.
Betis have limited transfer funds to spare, and, whilst they would probably have liked to have acquired the Spanish international permanently. Arsenal’s asking price was more than they could afford. Team-mate Borja Iglesias even launched a crowd-funding campaign on social media to help raise the necessary funds, but that was always a far-fetched solution.
He bid an emotional farewell on the pitch where he was joined by his parents after Betis played their last home game of the season against Granada on Sunday.
What the future holds for him in North London, though, is far from certain.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.