It seems strange to think now, but just five months ago, there were plenty of people lining up to criticise Martin Odegaard.
The Norwegian had failed to really catch light after secruing a permanent transfer from Real Madrid in August and after being strongly linked to James Maddison in the summer, some began to wonder whether Arsenal had signed the right man.
Fast forward to now though and Odegaard is arguably the most important player in the Gunners side, emphasising his tremendous run of form with a beautifully worked goal and two pre-assists in Sunday's 3-2 win over Watford.
So what has changed?
Well the most obvious place to start is where Odegaard is playing on the pitch.
After waiting plenty of time to finally bring in the Norwegian over the summer, it seemed Mikel Arteta had a pretty clear idea of how he wanted to use him.
Odegaard's best games during his loan spell in the back end of last season had come as a number 10 drifting to the right, and after being thrown straight into the starting XI in this position for the 6-0 Carabao Cup win over West Brom just 24 hours after his move to Emirates had been made permanent, it seemed this was where he would return.
Fate though had other ideas.
A red card for Granit Xhaka in the very next game against Manchester City meant that Odegaard was forced to drop into a deeper left-sided midfield position to essentially replicate the role the Swiss international had played last season when covering for Kieran Tierney's attacking runs.
His heatmap from the 1-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor is proof of this.
When Xhaka returned for the North London Derby, Odegaard was back in his preferred more advanced position, but a serious knee injury for the 28-year-old that game meant that the Norwegian was forced to adapt his game once again matches against Brighton and Crystal Palace.
Unfortunately for him, that coincided with impressive cameos off the bench for Alexandre Lacazette, who up until that point had played just 31 minutes in the Premier League.
The Frenchman's impressive form, combined with a 96th,minute equaliser against Palace saw Arteta switch Arsenal to a 4-4-2 to accommodate both him and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with Odegaard the unfortunate one to miss out.
On top of this, the 23-year-old sustained niggling injuries that prevented him from featuring in the Carabao Cup 4th round tie against Leeds that would inevitably have offered him a chance to get back in the team.
After being shunted around from position to position and spending an unexpected amount of time on the bench, things appeared to be taking a familiar path for Odegaard in his career.
His failure to make it at Real Madrid had led many to classify the Norwegian as yet another over-hyped youngster who had failed to deliver on his potential, and three months in, it appeared those doubters might just be right.
Eventually though, he managed to reclaim his spot in the team, starting the 2-0 win over Newcastle right at the end of November and he hasn't looked back since.
Key to the upturn in fortunes has been a consistent run in his preferred position.
Odegaard has been used in the right-half space where he loves to influence play so much, forming a devastating partnership with Bukayo Saka, and allowing him to impact matches in the final third far more effectively.
In those first three months the 23-year-old's expected assists per game was just 0.05, but since December it has rocketed up to 0.23 (as per WyScout).
Unsurprisingly, Arsenal have benefited as a team as well, going from 1.15 goals per game pre-December, to 2.17 ever since.
Aside from just being one of the best attackers at the Emirates, Odegaard is quickly showing himself to be one of the best out there in the Premier League.
Fbref rank him in the 98th percentile for progressive passes and and goal-creating actions from open play, and the 95th for passes into the penalty area.
He is not perfect yet, and there are undoubtedly aspects of his game Odegaard could do with working on. His conviction in front of goal, and running into the box for example could certainly be improved on.
But if the Watford game is anything to go by, it seems this is something he's working on, and that potential for improvement is arguably the most exciting part about the Norwegian's game.
As Arsenal have made the transition from edging victories to grabbing them with both hands, the correlation with Odegaard's return to the starting XI is impossible to ignore.
If they are to get top four this season, then the former Real Madrid man's form in his favoured advanced position is going to be a crucial factor.
