The capture of Oleksandr Zinchenko was one of the shrewdest acquisitions of the summer transfer window - but the Ukrainian's arrival raised question marks over the future of one Arsenal star in particular.
Although Zinchenko has been mooted to fill a midfield role at the Emirates Stadium, the 25-year-old was regularly deployed as a left-back during his trophy-laden stint at Manchester City.
And with Kieran Tierney the Gunners' undisputed first-choice full-back, Nuno Tavares looked primed to become the odd man out after enduring a turbulent maiden season in English football.
The 22-year-old racked up 28 appearances following his £7million switch from Marseille; but although he impressed going forward, he failed to convince defensively and was hauled off before half time on two separate occasions.
Given it was unlikely that Tavares would feature ahead of Tierney or Zinchenko, it seemed inevitable that the Portuguese starlet would move on in the summer.
After weeks of speculation, Marseille won the race for the full-back - but the Gunners would only sanction a loan move; something Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insisted was the "best solution" for both the club and the player.
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The Spaniard explained: "For Nuno's development, I think it's going to be really important [playing regularly]. Obviously, we have recruited Oleks in that position and we have Kieran as well, which are two really strong players in that position, and we believe that Nuno's best solution was to do that."
That stance irked Tavares, who was not shy in sharing his disappointment at the fact that Arsenal refused to include a permanent option in the deal that took him to France.
But Arteta was reluctant to concede defeat in regards to the full-back after just 12 months working with him - and his stance has already been vindicated in the wake of the impressive impact Tavares has made overseas.
The flying full-back has netted three times in just seven matches for the French giants and looks like a completely different player to the one who struggled through the final few weeks of the Premier League campaign for the Gunners mere months ago.
Tavares' impact has even helped to propel Marseille to the top of the Ligue 1 table alongside PSG. And his current boss, Igor Tudor, believes that the youngster has already proven that he is destined for greater things - highlighting just why Arteta was reluctant to sanction a permanent departure.
"He sometimes doesn't even realise his qualities," Tudor said. "It is so hard to follow him when he accelerates. If he continues at this pace, he risks tormenting more than one Ligue 1 defence."
