When Arsenal approached Manchester City over the availability of full-back João Cancelo earlier this summer, the short-shrift response signalled a marked change in attitude from a year earlier.
City had then allowed striker Gabriel Jesus and left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko to join the Gunners for fees totalling around £90 million, deals which at the time seemed to reflect both Mikel Arteta's growing reputation as a coach and the amiable nature of his friendship with his former boss at City, Pep Guardiola.
The arrivals of Jesus and Zinchenko helped clarify Arteta's vision for the Gunners more than anyone imagined -- the team that finished 24 points behind City in 2021-22 suddenly emerged as their main rivals, ending the season in second place, having spent a total of 248 days at the top of the table.