The gulf in class between Arsenal's first choice starting line up and the players in their second string was made woefully apparent as the Gunners limped out of the FA Cup on Saturday.
Despite stating before the match that he felt duty-bound by the club's history to select a side he felt capable of progressing through to the next round of a trophy with which Arsenal have had such a fond relationship, Mikel Arteta elected to rotate his team on the day at St. Mary's.
To be fair the Spaniard he can hardly be blamed for the decision. Amidst the fixture congestion of the COVID-19 pandemic football is now more than ever a squad game, and with the cup deemed to be the lower priority, this felt like the perfect time to give those on the fringes the opportunity.
They let him down badly, but after the game Arteta refused to be drawn into whether he was concerned by the lack of depth in his squad.
"Well, I cannot complain with the squad that I have with the players that I have," he said with a smile on his face before quickly transitioning into a far more solemn tone.
"I’m disappointed with the way we lost the game and the way we gave them the goal. Then in the opponents box when we had the chances, we didn’t hit the target.
"Like that obviously in this competition against these opponents, you are out.
"But I don’t want to put any individual there. They all give their best and they will keep trying to do that and we are here to support them and try to improve them."
With this in mind though there is almost no doubting that for the second in their two part-series of consecutive away games to Southampton, the Spaniard will revert to the team that have saved his job.
One of the few to keep their place despite the switch from league to cup football was Bernd Leno and the German was excellent once more as he sought to extend a record of clean sheets that had not been bettered at Arsenal in over a decade.
He was unfortunately let down by the defenders in front of him, and Arteta will likely ring the changes as a result.
The importance of an actual left-footed left back has never been more on show than in the recent games where Kieran Tierney has been absent. The recent flurries of snow across the south of England will not bother the short-sleeved Scottish international who remarkably seems to find another level when the playing surface in front of him turns from green to white.
Rust is a common sight in the ports of Southampton and Gabriel will be still scraping the remnants of it in his performance off after a disappointing return. He will likely do so from the bench as David Luiz comes back into replace him while Rob Holding and Hector Bellerin keep their places in the back four.
Perhaps more worrying than the lowkey performance of the second string on Saturday was how much things improved once the substitutes came on. Among the earliest of them was Thomas Partey and the Ghanaian's quick-thinking dynamism is exactly what's required to break down the red fury of Southampton's aggressive press.
Alongside him will be the seemingly injury averse Granit Xhaka who has started to pick up a decent run of form following the moment of madness against Burnley.
Chief among the culprits of underwhelming mediocrity during the cup defeat on Saturday were Willian and Nicolas Pepe as Arsenal were showed why they can't rely on two of their most experienced and best paid wingers.
Eddie Nketiah could easily have been thrown in with the offenders, but it is likely that Arteta will turn to some of his other juvenile figures to correct the mistakes of their teammates.
Bukayo Saka has been a revelation all season, while Arteta hinted that he intends to still use Emile Smith Rowe regularly despite the impending arrival of Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid.
Up front Alex Lacazette has done a fantastic job of reprising his role as chaperone of a 'golden generation' of youthful talent from his time captaining a Lyon side that contained Samuel Umititi, Corentin Tolisso and Nabil Fekir.
The only member of the fab four from recent matches who could miss out is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who withdrew from the squad on Saturday due to a personal issue.
It is not known whether he will be available for the league game on Tuesday with such a quick turnaround, but if he isn't then Gabriel Martinelli showed with a tenacious and mature performance in the cup that he is more than ready to threaten again in the league.
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The trip to St. Mary's is the curtain raiser to a tough run of fixtures that await Arsenal towards the end of January and throughout the month of February. The Gunners will be wanting to put on a show of resilience that proves they are ready to rise to the occasion.
Sadly though, Mikel Arteta will know that there are only a few players he can rely on to truly get the job done. Expect the majority of them to play on Tuesday night.
Arsenal predicted XI: Leno; Bellerin, Holding, Luiz, Tierney; Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Smith Rowe, Martinelli; Lacazette.
