Hector Bellerin has signed a new contract at Arsenal. His growing importance to the side makes it a huge boost, writes Nick Wright... If there was ever a game to epitomise the rise of Hector Bellerin, it was Arsenals clash with Pep Guardiolas Bayern Munich in October last year. The Spaniard was twisted inside-out by Douglas Costa in a punishing first half at the Emirates Stadium, but rather than crumbling in the face of relentless pressure, he held his nerve.Bellerin gradually got on top of Costa, and Arsenal began to turn the tide. Olivier Giroud bundled home the opening goal from a free kick, and then there was Bellerin, the youngest player on the pitch, pouncing on a loose pass from David Alaba and racing into Bayerns box to cross for Mesut Ozil to seal the win. The Emirates erupted. Bellerins redemption was complete. Sky Sports Black Friday sale Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price! The young right-back has made a habit of coming through tough moments. He was dropped during a loan spell at Watford in 2014 and struggled badly on his Arsenal debut against Borussia Dortmund a few months later, but every setback has only added to his determination. Every challenge has become another leap forward. Bellerin played every minute of Arsenals first 11 Premier League matches A year on from that night against Costa, Bellerin has commited his future to Arsenal with a new long-term contract expected to place him among their highest earners. The 21-year-old was the only outfield player to play every minute of their first 11 Premier League games of the season, and it is testament to his importance that the news of his recent ankle injury prompted such anxiety among supporters.It is rare for a young player to reach such lofty heights in such a short space of time, but Bellerin has always been different. In fact, to Andres Carrasco, the man who signed him for Barcelona when he eight years old and coached him right up until he was 15, it is no surprise at all.Its always difficult to know which players will make it, but if Id had to bet on one, it would have been him, Carrasco told Sky Sports. Mentally, he was very strong. That is a very important aspect for a young player. The psychological aspect is crucial. Hector was a boy who seemed 20 when he was 15. Bellerin has formed an effective partnership with Theo Walcott on Arsenals right Carrasco is not the only coach to have been struck by Bellerins maturity. He has been absolutely fantastic, said Arsene Wenger last month. His first game was a nightmare. The season before he was at Watford where he didnt play. His progress has been brilliant because he has absolutely top mental strength.Bellerin can often be seen geeing up team-mates and offering instructions on the pitch. He is an old head on young shoulders and Wenger trusts him implicitly. I think he loves being here and he has responsibilities already in the dressing room for such a young age, added the Frenchman. Its something remarkable. I think he is a real Arsenal player.His emergence has already seen the £16m Calum Chambers sent away on loan and France international Mathieu Debuchy frozen out altogether, and his status as the Premier Leagues outstanding right-back was confirmed when he was named in the PFA Team of the Year last season. Arsenals average positions in their 4-1 win over Hull City in September Its little wonder supporters were so nervous about facing Manchester United without him last weekend. Bellerin keeps getting better, and this season he has become increasingly important to how Arsenal play. With left-back Nacho Monreal providing defensive balance on one side, Bellerin essentially operates as an auxiliary winger on the other.Bellerins average position has been in the opposition half in 10 of his 11 appearances, according to Opta. His overlapping runs on the right flank have allowed Theo Walcott to rediscover his scoring touch in central areas, and it is also revealing that Bellerin has had 32 touches in the opposition box himself. Its more than any other Premier League defender. Touches by defenders in opposition box - Premier League 2016/17 Player Team Touches Hector Bellerin Arsenal 32 Marcos Alonso Chelsea 25 Ryan Shawcross Stoke City 23 Scott Dann Crystal Palace 21 Antonio Valencia Man Utd 20 It highlights the unique nature of his role. No other full-back plays with such attacking adventure because they cant match his electrifying pace. He showed his extraordinary recovery speed with his last-ditch tackle on Pedro in Arsenals win over Chelsea, and there was a similar intervention to deny Tottenhams Heung-Min Son. Bellerin can venture high up the pitch without exposing vulnerability at the other end. Bellerin tackles Chelseas Pedro during Arsenals 3-0 win at the Emirates Stadium He is also accomplished when defending with his back to goal. The statistics show a pattern of constant improvement in one-on-one situations over the last four seasons, and this year he looks more assured than ever having struck up a strong understanding with Shkodran Mustafi on the right-hand side of Arsenals defence. Hector Bellerins one-on-ones (league games only) Season Team Dribbled past per game 2013/14 Watford 1.3 2014/15 Arsenal 0.8 2015/16 Arsenal 0.6 2016/17 Arsenal 0.5 Bellerin is expected to be sidelined for four weeks, and his absence is sure to have a big impact on how Arsenal play. Carl Jenkinson is expected to continue deputising having come into the side against United, but he has only recently returned from a long-term injury, and he cant match his team-mates rare combination of speed, attacking threat and defensive awareness.Few players can. Bellerin has always been different. He showed it with Carrasco in Barcelonas academy and he showed it that night at the Emirates Stadium against Douglas Costa. Wenger deserves credit for fast-tracking his career and the contract is a welcome boost. Bellerins importance to the side could become even clearer during his time on the sidelines.Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price. Hurry, offer ends December 4! Also See: Bellerin signs new Arsenal deal Wenger: Sanchez is remarkable Harrison Phillips Bills Jersey .com) - Guard Greivis Vasquez and forward Patrick Patterson, two key pieces to the Toronto Raptors run to an Atlantic Division title in 2013-14, were both given qualifying offers by the team on Saturday. Taron Johnson Jersey . -- Top-ranked Stacy Lewis birdied the last three holes and five of the final six Thursday for an 8-under 64 and a share of the lead with Mi Jung Hur in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic. http://www.authenticbillsfanatic.com/c-88-bills-chris-ivory-jersey.aspx . J.J. Hardy drove in a run for the Orioles, who bounced back from an 8-4 loss in the series opener on Friday. Fresh off the 15-day disabled list, Derrek Lee went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Jake Arrieta (7-3) gave up three runs on five hits over six innings to pick up the win. Jim Kelly Jersey . You can watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 3pm et/Noon pt. The Thunder reclaimed the home-court advantage LA took with a Game 1 win on Friday night with a 118-112 road win in Game 3. Tremaine Edmunds Jersey . His recovery time is expected to be six to eight months. Seidenberg was injured in the third period of Fridays 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators, when he got his leg tangled with forward Cory Conacher. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The coach and captain credited Chris Stewarts toughness for turning the tide in the Blues favour. It culminated with David Backes scoring 22 seconds into overtime on a breakaway that completed St. Louis rally from a two-goal deficit for a 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night. St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said Backes goal was nice, but they never would have gotten there without Stewart. "Chris Stewart showed a lot of guts and courage," Hitchcock said. "He got into a hell of a fight. His hand was sore. He ends up scoring the tying goal. He gave us a real inspiration." Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice, and after a bout with Dalton Prout late in the second period, Stewart tied it with 6:27 remaining for St. Louis. The Blues entered tied for the fewest regulation losses in the league with six, and have now won three straight and four of five. Brenden Morrow added two assists and Jaroslav Halak made 30 saves. "Stewie coming back after a big fight to score the tying goal, shows a lot of what hes about," said Backes, the captain. On the winner, Columbus lost the puck at its blue line. Backes took it, fended off Fedor Tyutin on a delayed penalty call then deked Mike McKenna, calmly scoring with a high shot. "I didnt get a very good read on where his hands were going with the puck," said McKenna, who finished with 27 saves. "Its frustrating. We were right there and played well enough to get a win tonight." Backes said it served as a little bit of redemption for a team performance that was not very good. "I just tried to take it to the net and found a little bit of area there and was lucky to get it through," Backes said of his 16th. Tyutin, Artem Anisimov and Ryan Johansen scored for Columbus, which came out flying to take a 3-1 lead after the first period. It was a tough loss for the Blue Jackets, who had won four of five, jelling around their backup goalies with last seasons Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovksy on the shelf. Third stringer and St. Louis native McKenna was back in net for the second straight game, making his first start since 2010 while playing for New Jersey, which was also against the Blues. On Thursday, in a 4-2 win at the New York Rangers, he stopped 17 of 18 shots in relief of an injured Curtis McElhinney. But in this one, the Blue Jackets and McKenna couldnt hold down the fort. "We had opportunities and that might be the most disappointing thing," said Columbus coach Todd Richards, who lost his first game (36-1) when leading after two periods since taking over in 2009. "I think we played hard for 60 plus minutes and it wasnt good enough. We had opportunities to put the game away and we kept them around." Trailing 3-2 to start the third period, St. Louis pulled even after Nick&nbbsp;Foligno and Mark Letestu couldnt convert on breakaway chances.dddddddddddd. Seconds after Letestu fired high into the glass, a rebound off McKenna into traffic found Stewart down low. He wasted no time converting his seventh at 13:33. Tarasenko staked St. Louis to the early lead. Catching a fortuitous carom off Prout and with McKenna leaning toward the initial play, he scored from the slot at 4:10 of the first period on the Blues second shot. Columbus answered with three goals in just under five minutes. Blake Comeau powered his way around Kevin Shattenkirk and slid a short pass to near the crease where Anisimov chipped home his ninth at 8:49. Tyutin followed two minutes later with a blast from the point for his third after a hard Blue Jackets forecheck led to a St. Louis turnover. "Not our first period that we like to play," Backes said. "We had to dig deep and get two points somehow." Then things heated up after the whistle with Columbus on the power play. Matt Calvert fought Ian Cole near the Blues goal while Barret Jackman and Folingo squared off. Cole took an extra roughing penalty giving the Blue Jackets a two-man advantage. Johansen cashed in 8 seconds later at the left dot, taking Brandon Dubinskys feed across the circles, and firing the puck past Halak for his team-leading 12th goal. St. Louis pressed the issue early in the second period but McKenna made several nice saves, including one with his leg pad on Vladimir Sobotka. Tarasenko finally broke through for St. Louis, notching his second and 11th of the season, snapping a screened shot from the left circle on the power play at 8:33. The teams had a combined eight minor penalties in the period with St. Louis whistled for five of them. Halak stoned Foligno from point-blank range late in the period with the Blue Jackets on another two-man advantage. "We had good early and then bad for a long stretch and then we started to come on again," Hitchcock said. "Every part of our game we had lots of good and bad throughout the hockey game." NOTES: Richards said injured F Marian Gaborik (sprained knee) and D James Wisniewski (upper body) may return next week. RW Nathan Horton continues to progress in his rehab after having shoulder surgery in July. ... The Blue Jackets added Jeremy Smith to their roster on emergency recall from their AHL affiliate to be McKennas back up. ... McKenna, who played for St. Louis AHL affiliate last season, has played in 19 games in the NHL with New Jersey, Tampa Bay and Columbus, going 5-9-2. His father is an off-ice official and scorer for the Blues. ... Johansen extended his career-high points streak to eight games, totalling four goals and six assists. ... St. Louis improved to 11-3 versus the Eastern Conference this season. ... The Blue Jackets had won four in a row at home. 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