Once upon a time, the idea of Kieran Tierney contemplating his future at Arsenal was seemingly unthinkable.
In fact, it was only a year ago when the left-back was a leading candidate to become the Gunners' next permanent captain as the armband eventually made its way over to him after Alexandre Lacazette was replaced during the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg defeat at the hands of Liverpool.
In addition, when Tierney took the armband instead of Granit Xhaka during Arsenal's win over Brentford last February, it was revealed that he was effectively the vice-captain: "Because Kieran (Tierney) was the next in line, that's why," Mikel Arteta told reporters as the decision caused quite a fuss at the time.