Arsenal appointed Unai Emery as their new manager during the summer after Arsene Wenger stepped down from his position.
And with the arrival of the former PSG man, everyone thought that the glory days would soon be returning to the Emirates.
But two back-to-back defeats in the Premier League quickly squandered those hopes and almost every Arsenal fan was back to abusing the club’s management.
Fortunately, Emery’s side managed to win their next two games against West Ham United and Cardiff City after which normalcy has somewhat returned to the club.
But now Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin has revealed the trauma he personally went through when the club were not performing greatly during the past couple of seasons.
The London outfit have been entangled in mediocrity for a number of years now and the brunt of the fans has fallen on the players.
A lot of players have been heavily criticized and abused and now Bellerin has revealed that all that negative criticism has affected him.
Bellerin said: ‘Some of it can get very abusive. Most of the abuse is online, but you hear it in the stadium, too.
‘People have called me “lesbian” for growing my hair. There are other kinds of homophobic insults. I have learnt to grow a thick skin but it can affect you. Every now and again, you get a bit of self-doubt.’
‘The problem is that people have an idea of what a footballer should look like, how they should behave, what they should talk about.
‘You act a little differently and you become a target. There is pressure to conform. This is very dangerous. In life, you should be allowed to express yourself. People are happier like this.’
The Spaniard also revealed he embarked on social detox for some time in order to get rid of all the negativity.
Hector added: ‘It can be a blessing and a curse. When I first came into the ranks at Arsenal, the expectations were very low so people were often impressed when I played well.
‘But then, when I played badly, the stick got crazy. The worst was a year and a half ago. A lot of people say nice things but it is natural to focus on the bad.
‘For a while, I deleted the apps. Later, I decided to go back on. Twitter is a great source of information. Every day I am learning to deal with abuse in a better way.’
With two back to back wins, the spirit at the Emirates is joyous and after the international break, the Gunners take on Newcastle United at St James Park.
Read: The new Dele Alli Challenge is here but it’s now on a totally different level.
Read: It seems the debate of who is the best English midfielder from the past generation may have finally been settled.
