Arsenal are still in pole position to end their agonising five-year exile from the Champions League despite their disappointing endeavours in the January transfer window.
But after the Gunners' hopes of pinching a top-four finish were given a boost without them even kicking a ball due to some favourable results, focus has seemingly started to tentatively shift to the Londoners summer plans.
Mikel Arteta is still in the midst of the ambitious rebuild that he started in earnest since his appointment back in December 2019 - and he'll be hoping to wrap up some big business this summer after a quiet January.
Arsenal's top priority in the summer will undoubtedly be sourcing the elite striker that Arteta has craved all season.
After being linked with a host of top names from around Europe, the Gunners are now reportedly on the trail of Chelsea loan star Armando Broja, who has made the step up to the Premier League this term with aplomb.
But pursuing the Albanian hotshot would completely contradict the brazen transfer promise that Arteta issued just weeks ago.
Join the debate! Do you think that Broja would be a good signing for Arsenal? Let us know here.
The Spaniard defended Arsenal's decision to keep their powder dry after missing out on a deal for Dusan Vlahovic by insisting that the club were only interested in "the best players" rather than making signings for the sake of it.
"Edu and his team did a fantastic job and they continue to do that," said the Arsenal chief at the start of the month.
"We only want the best players and the best people in this club. When we are in a rush and the reasons are not right for getting a player into the club, we decide not to do it."
While that stance is admirable, it feels inevitable that those words will come back to haunt Arteta.
And the fact that Arsenal are now targeting a Premier League rookie just weeks after chasing one of Europe's most coveted strikers is hardly going to appease fans concerns over the club's transfer strategy.
Broja has caught the eye in his maiden Premier League season after firing eight goals in 24 games for Southampton.
The 20-year-old has also troubled some of the league's top defences during his temporary stint on the south coast.
But is Broja really the best option to plunder the goals to fire Arsenal back into the upper echelons of the Premier League? It's hard to imagine that Broja was who Arteta had in mind when he spoke recently.
It would be an almighty gamble for Arsenal to build their attack around Broja off the back of an impressive six-month stint in the top-flight.
And even if that is a gamble that the club deem to be worth taking, Broja hardly aligns with the criteria that Arteta was confident enough to blurt out just a couple of weeks ago.
As well as question marks over Broja's suitability, it also remains to be seen if Chelsea would have any appetite to send one of their most prominent homegrown talents packing across the capital to one of their rivals.
It's hard to see the Blues facilitating any such deal - and Arsenal can't afford to engage in another tedious, drawn-out transfer chase after their fruitless attempts to lure Vlahovic to the Emirates.
Just months ago, after an extensive and expensive summer rebuild, Arsenal won a host of plaudits for the transfer work that had been spearheaded by Arteta and Edu.
But the same duo are now sparking some major concerns amongst the Gunners fanbase after some questionable transfer decisions.
And that confusion isn't likely to subside if Arteta does choose to defy the bold transfer promise that he blurted out just weeks ago.
Perhaps the most ironic thing is that Broja wouldn't even particularly be a bad signing - he just isn't what Arteta promised.
