Arsenal’s risible injury record hit hard today as the Gunners, without key men like Arteta, Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere and Welbeck, as well as the stupidly suspended Olivier Giroud and good bench fodder like Lukas Podolski, struggled to break down the Saints.

Coupled with mistakes from Wojciech Szczesny and some woeful defending, it’s little wonder that the lack of freshness was reflected in the poor performance.