Emmanuel Frimpong has stated on social networking site Twitter that Hector Bellerin deserves to retain his place in the Arsenal team despite the return to full fitness of Mathieu Debuchy.
France international defender Debuchy made a comeback for the Gunners on Saturday after recovering from an injury he sufferd in January.
The 29-year-old was drafted into the Arsenal starting line-up for the FA Cup semi-final tie against Reading at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Debuchy played the entire 120 minutes as Arsene Wenger’s side won the tie 2-1 after extra time, while Bellerin was not even part of the matchday squad.
Bellerin has been playing well at right-back in the absence of Debuchy, and former Arsenal prospect Frimpong hopes that the 20-year-old gets to feature regularly for the rest of the season.
Bellerin’s performances and progress this season have been stunning, and there is little doubt that he is one of the best young right-backs in the Premier League at the moment.
However, Debuchy, who moved to Arsenal from Newcastle United in the summer transfer window, is the designated first-choice right-back.
One suspects that Wenger is likely to play the Frenchman more regularly now, which will come as a disappointment to Bellerin.