Saints could unleash the most expensively assembled side in the club’s history for their first trip to the Emirates Stadium tomorrow.

£12m man Gaston Ramirez is available for his first game for the club, as is Japan international Maya Yoshida , signed for £2m, while Emmanuel Mayuka is also hoping for a first start since his £3.5m move.

Nigel Adkins suddenly has a host of options, and decisions to make ahead of the game at Arsenal.

With Ramirez and Yoshida having only reported to the club for the first time yesterday after travelling back from international games in South America and Japan respectively, it could be too big an ask for them to start.

However, Adkins has promised to assess them carefully over the next 24 hours in order to decide if they are ready to start or take a place on the bench.

“They’ve been to different parts of the world and different time zones they’ve had to go through and some haven’t arrived back until Thursday,” he said.

“So it’s a case of checking out where everybody is, what they’ve gone and done and where they physically are in preparation for a great game at Arsenal.

“It’s his (Yoshida’s) first day in the building with us on Thursday, the same as Gaston.

“To get ready for a game on Saturday is a challenge and having not trained with their teammates before and not met them is a challenge as well, but it’s one we’re embracing.”

Saints are aiming for a first Premier League win of the season when they take on the Gunners tomorrow.

Adkins is hopeful that the lessons they have learned from a first three games which have seen them win plenty of plaudits but no points will stand them in good stead.

“The challenge is getting a team ready for the Barclay’s Premier League and that’s what we’ve embraced,” said Adkins.