Hughes: Stoke can replace Arnautovic

Marko Arnautovic’s suspension gives others a chance to stake their claim for regular first-team action according to Stoke City boss Mark Hughes.

The Austrian forward was shown a straight red card as the Potters drew 0-0 with Southampton at the Bet365 Stadium – which is likely to keep him out for three games.

Stoke have a tough Christmas ahead with Premier League games against defending champions Leicester City and title-chasing duo Liverpool and Chelsea.

And Hughes has challenged other players, such as Mame Biram Diouf, Bojan and Ramadan Sobhi, to step up and impress as 12th-placed Stoke look to break into the top half of the table.

Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images

“It’s frustrating, because I thought it was a harsh sending off anyway, but to now lose Marko for three games, which it looks like we will, is difficult to take,” he said.

“When you have important fixtures coming up, you always want to have your best players available and now, unfortunately, we are going to have to do without one of our key guys.

“There is no point in us even contemplating appealing the decision because we wouldn’t win the appeal anyway – you never really do, and if anything they would probably add another match onto it.

“We will go into the games with what we have and thankfully we have good options, and several of the guys who weren’t involved will come back into my thinking.”