Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal have two young players who can fill the Ox-shaped hole in the squad.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain left the Gunners on deadline day and yesterday joined training at Liverpool for the first time.
At his pre-match press conference today, Wenger focused on the opportunities that Oxlade-Chamberlain's departure gives other players.
Wenger said: "We wish him well and all the best and thank him for what he has done here.
"At the end of the day, you make decisions, you choose one or the other one, and we had to sell somebody.
"Overall, I believe that today we are in a strong financial situation, as always, and have a good enough squad to compete.
"That doesn't take anything away from the quality of Oxlade-Chamberlain, I think he is a great player.
"But sometimes it opens the door for younger players like [Reiss] Nelson or Joe Willock to get an opportunity."
17-year-old Nelson featured heavily in Arsenal's pre-season programme and on Tuesday starred for England under-19s in their 3-1 defeat to Germany, scoring the Three Lions' only goal.
Willock, 19, was also hugely impressive in pre-season, playing in central midfield during Arsenal's tour of Australia and China.
Oxlade-Chamberlain yesterday said the lure of working with Jurgen Klopp persuaded him to turn his back on a big money approach from Chelsea, to take less money at Anfield.
“I felt this place was definitely the place for me,” he said, “and the way the manager’s teams play, that’s definitely inspirational for me and was one of the instrumental [reasons] - if not the main reason that I signed.”
Arsenal return to Premier League action this weekend against Bournemouth, determined to put their woeful performance at Liverpool behind them.
