Rival fans across the country joked, smirked and smugly suggested that there would be no way Mikel Arteta would see through his rebuild process at Arsenal.
He has proved them wrong this season. The failure to win qualification to the Champions League was highlighted as a huge issue, though many saw enough to realise that this was a young Arsenal team on the up. Currently five points clear at the top of the Premier League, the Gunners are smiling down on everybody else below them - bar Manchester City, who are perilously breathing down their necks - but it's a welcome change at the Emirates Stadium.
Mykhaylo Mudryk now seems to be the next big step in the Arsenal revolution. The Shakhtar Donetsk attacker has been in superb form for his club this season, turning heads across Europe in a bid to secure a move away from the Ukrainian champions, with Premier League sides interested in his services. Arsenal and Chelsea remain at the forefront, though it does begin to seem as though the Gunners will secure his signature in the coming weeks.
