Arsenal are currently flying high at the top of the Premier League eight points clear of nearest challengers Manchester City.
Few could have predicted the Gunners would be in such a position with 10 game to go before a ball had been kicked this season, but Mikel Arteta has got his side operating like a well-oiled machine that no longer fear any opponent. However, the journey so far has been anything but easy for the Arsenal boss.
Arteta has had to cull the Gunners squad and has managed to build an entirely new-look side from the one he inherited upon his appointment in late 2019. That has meant exiling and removing a number of high-profile stars, though as the league table shows, it was clearly all part of the plan.
Without further ado, here are five ex-Arsenal players who may look at the Gunners current position and regret their respective exits.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Undoubtedly the most obvious choice, Aubameyang initially fled to Barcelona after Arteta deemed his position at the club untenable. Eight months later and the forward was back in London, having put pen to paper on a deal with Chelsea.
Aubameyang arrived at Stamford Bridge in August of last year eager to work with Thomas Tuchel, but enjoyed just one game under the German before he was dismissed from his post.
Under Graham Potter, the Gabon international has been left out of Chelsea's Champions League squad and had to suffer the humiliation of being withdrawn as his former Arsenal team-mates enjoyed a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in November.
Lucas Torreira
Many Arsenal fans had high hopes for the Uruguay international, but Torreira struggled to ever fully adapt to the London lifestyle and longed for something different.
After loan spells at Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina, Torreira eventually sealed a permanent exit from the club last summer and joined Turkish giants Galatasaray. While he has featured in the majority of games this season, the 27-year-old may have enjoyed significant game-time for the Gunners had he stayed.
Injuries to Thomas Partey could have led to Torreira making his mark on Arsenal's title charge, but instead it was up to January addition Jorginho to deputise for the Gunners.
Matteo Guendouzi
Guendouzi is in a similar situation to Torreira in that if he could have just nailed down off-field issues, there may have been a future for him in North London and potentially a winners' medal around his neck come the end of May.
Alas, the young midfielder failed to see eye to eye with Arteta and after a number of loan spells away from the Emirates, he finally secured a permanent deal with Marseille where he remains to date.
Guendouzi has played most of Marseille's games this term, but as if often the case 'Les Phoceens' find themselves well behind league-leaders Paris Saint-Germain as the season approaches its final furlong.
Nicolas Pepe
Few Emirates arrivals have underwhelmed quite like Arsenal's record-signing, with the £72million Pepe failing to ever truly justify his astronomical price tag.
On the day of his Arsenal unveiling, no one would have expected that three summer's later Pepe would be returning to Ligue 1 on loan with OGC Nice.
A bright start for Nice that saw him net six league goals inside his first 17 games was curtailed by a knee injury that sidelined the Ivorian from late-January all the way through to early March.
Pepe could have been deployed as an option to give Saka a rest over the course of what has been a gruelling season.
Hector Bellerin
The Spaniard is a beloved figure at the Emirates, but sealed a permanent exit from the club after more than a decade on the books last summer.
Initially leaving for Barcelona, Bellerin failed to last the full season at the Camp Nou and has since joined Sporting CP. Injuries have hindered the right-back's progression in recent season, but the talent remains undeniable.
With Takehiro Tomiyasu's season ending prematurely, Bellerin could have been waiting in the wings to jostle with Ben White for the right-back spot and try to help Arsenal to a first league title in 19 years.
