27-year-old Arsenal star rejects advances from Italy in favor of a move to Spain: Reports

Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has reportedly turned down offers from Italy as he wants to return to Spain.

According to Spanish journalist Kike Martin, as per Inside Futbol, the 27-year-old right-back is keen to return to his homeland so he can rejoin Real Betis. He enjoyed an outstanding on-loan season with the Verdiblancos in the most recent campaign.

Bellerin played 32 times for the Liga outfit and provided five assists in all competitions last term as helped them to an impressive fifth-placed finish. However, the report also claims that Betis may not have the financial capabilities to pull off the transfer.

It is claimed that the Spain international's wage demands are too high for Betis, while the club also don't want to pay Arsenal's asking price of £7 million. Bellerin only has one year left on his current contract, so the Gunners may be keen to sell him this summer to avoid losing him on a free transfer next summer.

Bellerin has played 239 times across competitions for the north London club since moving from the Barcelona youth academy in 2011. He bagged nine goals and 29 assists during his time in north London.

He has won three FA Cups during his time at the Emirates Stadium. In the 2015/16 season, the pacy right-back was named in the PFA Team of the Year, but fell out of favor with Mikel Arteta before his loan move to La Liga.

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Mikel Arteta hints that Arsenal will look to sell players this summer

The Gunners have so far enjoyed a productive transfer window, with Oleksandr Zinchenko set to become the club's fifth signing of the summer.

Speaking to Football.London, Arteta has now hinted that fringe players may now be shown the door at Arsenal. The Spaniard will look to both trim down his squad and the club's wage budget.

When the 40-year-old boss was asked about potential outgoings in the current window, he proclaimed:

“I don’t know, it’s what we have today, and as well we have a large squad, so we have to make some decisions on the players that we’re not going to be using consistently and be fair and straight with them, and that’s a process that’s going to start very soon, as well.”