Hector Bellerin insists Arsenal are still in race for Champions League qualification after recent revival

Hector Bellerin says Arsenal have not given up hope of qualifying for the Champions League this season after winning their third game on the spin.

Arsenal beat Norwich City 4-0 at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, with two goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, one from Granit Xhaka and another from debutant Cedric Soares.

The victory is Mikel Arteta’s side’s third in a row in all competitions and lifts them up to seventh in the Premier League, eight points off Chelsea in fourth.

Fifth could also be good enough for a Champions League place, though, if Manchester City’s ban from European competition is upheld and, with Arsenal just six points off Manchester United who currently occupy that spot, Bellerin says they have not given up hope.

“For us, [earning a Champions League spot] has been the goal since the beginning of the season,” he said. “It wasn’t the best of starts to our Premier League return, but we have been working really hard through the whole of quarantine — not just physically, but tactically as well.

“I think we just needed those games to get all those new concepts onto the pitch. Slowly, we are getting there and we are improving.

“After the Brighton game, we realised we had to be more aggressive. We had to be better in the duels. In the past few games we have shown that we are up for that and we want to fight.”

If Arsenal are to gatecrash the Champions League places, then they will need Aubameyang to fire them there. The forward, who is out of contract in a year, became the fastest Arsenal player to net 50 Premier League goals last night, while his brace also made him the division’s joint top scorer this season.

“I think the stats speak for themselves,” said Bellerin. “It is very hard nowadays to get a striker that can score that many goals in that many games. We are very happy to have him.”

While Aubameyang’s future is up in the air, the same can also be said for Matteo Guendouzi.

The midfielder was left out of Arsenal’s match-day squad last night for the third game in a row since his altercation with striker Neal Maupay after a defeat to Brighton last month.

Guendouzi’s attitude has previously been questioned, namely on a mid-season trip to Dubai in February, and his spat with fellow Frenchman Maupay has only added to that.

Arteta was last night asked why the 21-year-old was once again not involved and said: “It’s the same reasons as last week.” When pressed to expand on the matter, the Spaniard said: “Things have to change — and nothing has changed.”

Guendouzi has two years remaining on his current contract and the situation surrounding his future will have to be resolved this summer. He is highly thought of by clubs in Europe and, if Arsenal elect to sell him, there will be plenty of interest.