Joining Arsenal as a 16-year-old in 2011, Hector Bellerin arguably didn't get to enjoy the finest of Arsene Wenger's two decades with the club.
A former student at Barcelona's La Masia youth academy, the general assessment of Bellerin's career in England to date tends to highlight a lack of progress made by the Spanish fullback.
However, determined to prove his many, many doubters wrong, Bellerin revealed in an interview with The Times just how pleased he was with Wenger's departure from the club ahead of the 2018/19 season.
Although he is willing to concede that Wenger played an important role in his career, at 23-years of age, he is delighted with the change.
"It feels like a new club. We have so many new staff. It’s a shame for those who have gone, and I am grateful to them all ... but you can understand why a new person would like to put their own stamp on the club."
Of the man who replaced Wenger, Unai Emery has greatly impressed Bellerin, and, it is in the Spanish manager's methodical approach that Bellerin notes a characteristic of Wenger's he seemingly had grown quite tired with.
I am impressed with Emery ... [and] the players could feel that things were coming together.
With Arsène, he wanted us to play in the same way regardless of the opponents. The idea was that we could play in our way and beat anyone.
But Emery is very focused on preparing a plan for our next opponents, whoever they may be. We will reach a higher level.
An unusually frank assessment of Wenger's perceived limitations in the later years of his Arsenal career, Bellerin appears intent to keep true to his belief that footballers should be allowed to "express" themselves more.
