When Shkodran Mustafi lay rolling around on the floor in pain at Bournemouth on Monday night, you wondered when Arsenal would see him again this season.
The German looked in serious pain as he clutched his ankle, but he somehow made a miraculous recovery to start here against Burnley.
In many ways, it typified Mustafi’s rebirth under Mikel Arteta as in the summer under Unai Emery his future at Emirates Stadium looked incredibly bleak.
Emery openly admitted in a press conference that the centre-back was free to find a new club and, when he did not, he was resigned to appearances in the Europa League.
All that has changed under Arteta, however, as the Spaniard has given every player a clean slate.
Mustafi, to his credit, has grabbed that chance with both hands to earn his spot in the first team back.
When you consider the abuse the German has had to suffer - a topic he recently opened up about in an interview with the club - it really is a remarkable comeback.
Suddenly he is starting to show shades of the player Arsenal thought he was when the splashed £35million to sign him in the summer of 2016.
That is not to say Mustafi is looking like a £35m centre-back - let’s not get carried away with ourselves - but he is starting to look like a useful cog in this Arsenal squad when under Emery he was nothing more than a spare part.
Against Burnley he battled and fought against a physical Chris Wood, who at 6ft 3in has three inches on Mustafi.
The German, however, scrapped and held firm on an afternoon where Arsenal needed to dig deep at Turfmoor.
It was hardly pretty or glamorous from Mustafi, but it was what the situation required and the fact he has comeback to be a solution to the Gunners’ defensive issues should be praised.
Clean sheets have been hard to come by for Arsenal this season, but this was another rare one they could add to the collection - and one Mustafi was certainly a key part of.
Now that is something you could not have imagined saying back in the summer.
