When the Europa League round of 16 draw was made and Arsenal were paired with Sporting CP, many described the tie as the 'Hector Bellerin derby'.
Granted the idea of the Spaniard facing his former club became a possibility when Barcelona - whom he joined from the Gunners on transfer deadline last summer - dropped into the aforementioned competition after finishing third behind Bayern Munich and Internazionale in their Champions League group.
And despite being on the move once again in the January transfer window, as fate would have it, Bellerin has been pencilled in for an immediate reunion with Arsenal and this was a scenario that Mikel Arteta was eagerly anticipating ahead of last week's first-leg in Lisbon.
