Hector Bellerin pens new long-term contract at Arsenal

Hector Bellerin has signed a six-year contract with Arsenal, who may now turn their attentions to persuading Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to commit to the club.

The Gunners on Monday announced Bellerin had signed a “long-term contract” which reports say will run for six years.

The 21-year-old Spain right-back’s impressive performances had seen him linked with moves to former club Barcelona and Manchester City in recent weeks.

And the futures of Germany playmaker Ozil and Chile forward Sanchez will now be further in the spotlight.

Both are in the penultimate season of their current deals, which expire in June 2018.

So too are England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and France striker Olivier Giroud, while Germany defender Per Mertesacker’s existing contract expires at the end of this season.

Bellerin is currently out with an ankle injury, but the news comes as a boost ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Paris St Germain.

The Gunners and PSG are already through to the last 16 and the winners of the Emirates fixture will secure top spot and a more favourable knockout stage draw.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger last month declared he was planning to offer Bellerin a new deal after praising his “absolutely spectacular” development following a “nightmare” full debut against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in 2014.

Bellerin made 44 appearances for the Gunners in 2015-16, creating nine goals.

He was named in the Professional Footballers’ Association Premier League team of the year and in the Spain squad for Euro 2016.

He joined Arsenal from Barca and was linked with a return to the Nou Camp, but the new deal has put an end to that prospect, for now.