After several years out of the title picture, Arsenal travel to Manchester City on Wednesday night with a golden opportunity to claim their first Premier League crown since 2004.
The Gunners have locked horns with City on several occasions since they prised Mikel Arteta away from the Etihad Stadium back in 2019 with mixed results.
However, the Londoners are now bonafide title contenders after a stunning season. And the side that Arteta will name to face Pep Guardiola and co on Wednesday night will have a distinctly different feel to several of the teams from seasons past.
The Spaniard has overseen a ruthless rebuild since stepping into the Emirates hot seat. Highly-paid underperforming stars, such as Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, have been discarded in favour of youth and endeavour. But the process has not always been straightforward.
Back in December 2020 - 12 months after Arteta's arrival - the pressure was on the chief after his side were smashed by Manchester City in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. And their pathetic display was slammed by talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan, who singled out Nicolas Pepe and accused the club-record flop of "cheating" Arteta.
"I know I made the observation that ultimately managers get themselves sacked. But this group of players will get him sacked," Jordan said. "I am looking at their performances, I am looking at what they are putting out on the pitch and I think they are cheating, some of these players. They are cheating the club and they are cheating their manager."
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Jordan went on to single out the Gunners' club-record signing, adding: "I think there is a distinct possibility unless he gets some proper support in terms of change of personnel in January, that this group of players will take him to the precipice of getting sacked.
"They are cheating, look at [Nicolas] Pepe. We all have our difficulties and challenges in life and football brings about its different challenges, but if that's a £72million footballer, then with due respect, I am a monkey's uncle because that is not worth the money. The way he strolled around in the second half and he showed no interest in the game."
Unsurprisingly, Arteta showcased his ruthless streak and showed Pepe the door in the summer after handing the former Lille winger countless opportunities to impress.
The Ivory Coast international was farmed out on loan to Ligue 1 outfit Nice in the summer after falling out of favour at the end of the 2021/22 campaign. And with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli thriving in his absence, it's hard to see a way back for the winger, who cost a staggering £72million back in 2019.
