Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin reportedly had his head turned by summer links to Barcelona and told Gunners manager Arsene Wenger he wanted to leave the north London club.

According to BBC Sport's David Ornstein, Spaniard Bellerin told Wenger of his desire to depart the Emirates Stadium after returning from the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Poland, in which La Rojita were beaten in the final:

Quick attempt to answer some Qs on #AFC window. Likes of @SwissRamble @AST_arsenal far better & more forensic on finances + results/AGM soon pic.twitter.com/LSDoAfZ1kp

— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) September 4, 2017

Ornstein added that Arsenal were determined not to lose 22-year-old Bellerin, among others, and managed to keep him at the club.

Bellerin spent his formative years in Barcelona's academy before switching to Arsenal's youth ranks in 2011, and he has been consistently linked with a return to the Camp Nou in the last year, per Paul Hirst in the Times.

Football Espana explained the links re-emerged in the summer—despite Bellerin signing a new deal with Arsenal back in November—as Barca had only Aleix Vidal as a genuine right-back option.

However, Bellerin failed to force a move to the Catalan giants, who instead signed Nelson Semedo from Benfica.

The Spain international's performances for Arsenal since the start of the new Premier League season have not been his best—especially in the recent 4-0 defeat to Liverpool—and are perhaps indicative of a player who is unsettled, per ESPN.co.uk's Mark Ogden and the Sunday Times' Duncan Castles:

Bellerin will need to up his standard if he is to remain on Barca's radar and earn a potential return to the club in the future.

If he continues in his current form, the Blaugrana may eventually be relieved to have failed in their attempts to snap him up.