As Erik ten Hag has shown to great effect at Manchester United, sacrificing a disruptive player in order to maintain squad harmony is a risk worth taking.
It can be easily argued Cristiano Ronaldo was no great loss to the team anyway given his steep decline but his December departure did leave United with just one central striker for a number of games until Wout Weghorst was brought in. Without him sulking around the place, United's team couldn't look more together and have gone from strength to strength.
It seems unlikely Joao Cancelo was going to be sitting opposite Piers Morgan anytime soon but it does appear the full-back's discontent over his lack of minutes in recent months might have been having a similar negative impact in the Manchester City dressing room. The fact Pep Guardiola had no qualms about allowing the defender he has used more than any other this season to walk out the door with a day of the transfer window remaining lays bare how sudden and sharp his fall out of favour was.
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The risk may well pay off for City too but, in a window in which all of their close rivals have strengthened, it's undeniable that City have gone in the opposite direction. Arsenal brought in an exciting forward and a quality midfield option with plenty of winning experience. Chelsea have brought in everyone. Liverpool spent more money on another forward. United, Tottenham and Newcastle have all added to their squads. But City have allowed one of the most integral players to their last two title triumphs to depart.
Though the club's apparent reluctance to buy a good left-back remains baffling, the form of Nathan Ake, Rico Lewis' emergence and having Aymeric Laporte and Sergio Gomez for cover can justify why City didn't spend money on someone just for the sake of it. They have done pretty well in recent years without signing one, after all.
But what could prove to be costly is that City have lost a member of what is already a very small squad. City's defenders aren't exactly renowned for their ability to stay fit throughout a season, either.
John Stones suffered a hamstring injury against the Gunners on Friday, Ruben Dias has started once since the restart after suffering his own injury at the World Cup while Ake and Laporte have both endured repeated problems. It's not inconceivable for City at one point in the remainder of the season to be without all four of them. Then they really would be in trouble.
It was a huge problem last season. During the high-pressure run-in, Laporte was sustaining himself on painkillers as his ankle hung on by a thread and he had to be partnered by Fernandinho at centre-back. The captain was so poor on the final day that he was dragged off at half-time and the Blues came within a whisker of letting the title slip through their fingers.
It appeared City took steps to ensure they wouldn't be left in such a precarious position again with more signings than usual in the summer and two defenders being brought in. But the issue they thought they'd solved is rearing its ugly head once more.
This time, City don't even have an advantageous position in the table to hold on to should injuries strike. They're the ones chasing Arsenal down and that's even harder.
Perhaps City will get away with it. Maybe the rest of the season will go by without any more injuries. But even typing that sentence out feels like false hope. They will almost certainly strike and when they do Guardiola is going to have to improvise once again.
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