Last Sunday, Arsenal put in a landmark performance. For the first time in 14 years, they had beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford.
It was also the first time since 2014 that they had beaten top-six opposition away from home.
No longer were pundits and fans alike going to be talking about that day at the Etihad when Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla ran the show against Manchester City.
This was supposed to be a new dawn for the Gunners. Mikel Arteta had succeeded in an area Unai Emery never did, and usurped the last few years of Arsene Wenger's reign too.
The Spaniard was the man to bring a greater future to Arsenal. So we thought anyway.
What followed their best result of the season was something few would have predicted. Just a week later, they were facing Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium.
Behind the rather farcical pay per view system, the Gunners took on a side that had already battered Liverpool 7-2 earlier in the season and they ended suffered a defeat just as embarrassing.
The Villans brushed aside Arsenal 3-0 in what will undoubtedly go down as Arteta's worst night in management so far. His side was slow, lazy and timid, devoid of creativity and the confidence they played with at Old Trafford seven days prior.
The Gunners looked unrecognisable from the team that finally banished their top-six hoodoo, crumbling under the pressure of Villa's unrelenting attack.
Jack Grealish was phenomenal and alongside Ross Barkley and John McGinn, he ran proceedings from a creative point of view. The lone striker, Ollie Watkins, was also a dagger to the heart of Arsenal's defence.
Remarkably, though, it was the London side's attack that was receiving the most vocal critics.
In the summer, Edu turned down the opportunity to sign Houssem Aouar from Lyon and thus, the club was now lacking in the creative midfield department. They did, of course, sign Thomas Partey, but he lacks attacking threat.
As such, we have seen Arsenal struggle in the final third this term. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has just two Premier League goals - one from the penalty spot - and Arsenal have failed to score a goal from open play in six hours and 26 minutes of football.
You can point towards the lack of creative players in the squad, but it's difficult to excuse Arteta when Mesut Ozil isn't in the squad and Joe Willock - a young man so impressive in Europe - can't get a look in on the domestic front.
Though, a share of the blame must also go to Alexandre Lacazette, a player with just three goals this term.
He was poor against Villa and struggled to maintain possession, while he also missed a simple header from just a matter of yards out. A mean whipped deliver from Kieran Tierney was on a plate but he placed his effort way over the bar. This summed up the Frenchman's last few games.
Lacazette has been woeful in front of goal and his hold-up play which is usually so reliable has also let him down. For someone who cost so much, you'd want far more for your money.
Transfer fee: £46.5m
Weekly salary: £182k
Yearly salary: £9.46m
Total wages since signing: £28.38m
Accumulative spend: £74.88m
Cost per goal: £1.4m
Cost per assist: £2.9m
Cost per game: £550k
*excluding added contract bonuses
The sad thing is that the striker initially looked like a good piece of business. He scored on his Premier League debut at the beginning of the 2017/18 season against Leicester and then won the club's Player of the Season award the following campaign.
His record in 2018/19 was an impressive 19 goals and 13 assists, some of which came in some huge games. Lacazette netted against Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool, but his form has declined since that season.
Last term, the 29-year-old found the net on just 12 occasions and after scoring three in three at the start of the current campaign, has failed to score in six straight games.
It defies belief that he is playing in a central area ahead of someone so prolific in Aubameyang.
On evidence this season, it would be easy to call him a flop, especially when you consider the money involved in bringing him to the Emirates. However, that would be harsh.
The France international has had some fantastic moments in the red and white of Arsenal and for a few years, looked a good purchase.
Yet, for a striker at a top club, he doesn't score enough and doesn't warrant starting ahead of players like Nicolas Pepe and Aubameyang.
If the Gunners are given a chance to cut their losses and sell Lacazette, they must accept and move on. The Frenchman has gone from being a well-loved figure in Islington to someone who has become a major scapegoat. It's a shame for all involved.