Bellerin - It is hard to get thrown in

Hector Bellerin knows how difficult it was for Calum Chambers and Gabriel to be thrown in against Liverpool.

The defenders made their first starts of the season in Monday’s goalless draw, after illness and a mild back injury ruled out Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny respectively.

Bellerin also featured in the back four and, although he is now a regular in Arsene Wenger’s starting line-up, he remembers the challenge of being thrust into first-team action, at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

“It’s very difficult when you haven’t played regularly to just come on to the pitch,” he said. "It happened to me last year and it will happen to all players at some point. It’s hard to adjust to the tempo of the game and gain confidence.

“The fact that both centre backs went straight in after not playing this year must have been very difficult. We knew it would be but the fact that we kept a clean sheet and had the help of Petr Cech, who had a great game, was important. It’s hard to just get thrown in, especially in that kind of game against Liverpool at home.”

Cech produced a man-of-the-match performance in Monday’s draw and Bellerin has revealed how much the 33-year-old has helped him since joining from Chelsea in the summer.

“He’s a great professional and we are learning a lot from him,” he said. “His performance on Monday said a lot about him. He’s at his top level, he made some great saves and it’s important to have a goalkeeper who can win you points.

“It’s good to have a striker who can score goals, but the fact that we have a goalkeeper who is going to stop them is as important. We are very lucky to have him in goal and when you look back and see Petr in goal it gives you a lot of confidence.

“I’ve had great help when I’ve been playing with Per next to me, who is an experienced player. As a young player, to always have experience and leaders at the back really helps us young players and also the rest of the team.”