Hector Bellerin: Arsenal youngsters mean there is no need for January transfer window signings

Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin has downplayed the club's need to sign replacements for injured pair Alexis Sanchez and Laurent Koscielny, believing there is sufficient quality in the club's youth ranks to cover during their absence. Koscielny limped off with a hip problem while Sanchez was replaced after an hour with a hamstring injury.

Santi Cazorla played the full 90 minutes of the game but is also expected to spend a spell out of the team, potentially leaving the club without 10 first-team players for the visit of Sunderland on 4 December. The game at Emirates Stadium comes four days before the critical Champions League group game against Olympiacos, which Arsene Wenger's wide must win by two clear goals to progress to the knock-out phase.

The blows come just a month before the opening of the January transfer window, which will give the normally prudent Wenger the opportunity to bolster his resources. However, Bellerin believes such is the quality of Arsenal's young players they need not dip into the market to cover for their injury crisis.

"I have said it before, there is great depth in the team," he told Arsenal's official website. "There are a lot of young players in the team waiting to come through, and we have a lot of quality training with us every day.

"They are ready to step up so obviously every single player on the bench can do the same job as every single player in the starting XI. We don't need to worry about [the injuries to Alexis and Koscielny]. The only thing we need to do is go out onto the pitch with the right mentality, it does not matter who we play."

Wenger has handed several youngster chances to impress this term, with the likes of Ismael Bennacer, Jeff Reine-Adelaide, Alex Iwobi, Glen Kamara and Isaac Hayden all handed game time. However, it is yet to be seen whether that trust will translate into further chances in the New Year.