Saints are having an injury crisis just as they looked set to get the season back on track, the news that Kyle Walker Peters will miss the game against the Gunners and possibly more meaning we go into Sunday missing 4 of our best players.
Ralph Hasenhuttl goes into the game against unbeaten in the Premier league Arsenal without arguably 4 of his best 5 players missing.
Tino Livramento is of course a long term injury and not back to Xmas at the earliest, Romeo Lavia has missed the last 8 weeks with a hamstring injury although he has now returned to training he is not match fit, Armel Bella-Kotchap is out with a dislocated shoulder and now they are joined by Kyle Walker Peters with also a hamstring.
That means that Hasenhuttl will be without 4 of his 5 best players.
If we weren't playing Arsenal then perhaps the squad could cope, Ainsley Maitland-Niles can play as a right back and going forward that could conceivably be the case at Crystal Palace next week when it is likely Lavia will return in the centre of midfield, but with the loanee from Arsenal unable to play against his parent club that isn't an option this weekend.
Kyle Walker Peters absence will be a blow, but when Ralph says it will be a long term injury he is being economic with the truth in that with only 3 weeks and 4 games left of the first part of the season followed by the World Cup break, for Walker Peters it will only be a short spell out, given he should be fit by Boxing Day in two months time.
Likewise at least three of the injured will definetly be fit again by then and Tino Livramento won't be far behind.
But firstly we have to get the game against Arsenal out of the way, after that I think the squad can cope with Maitland-Miles slotting in at right back.
But for Sunday Ralph has some thinking to do, does he play both his available full backs , Romain Perraud & Juan Lavia and switch one to the right.
Does he just switch one, likely Perraud and play Djenepo on the left, or does he switch James Ward Prowse to right back, if Lavia were fit that would be an option for this game, but I don't think he will be.
On the face of it things look bleak for the visit of the Gunners, but sometimes in adversity, inner strength is found by teams and we have beaten better teams from worse positions.