Arsenal's current trajectory sees them highly likely to win the Premier League title against all the odds, but with Manchester City, nothing is ever truly over.
Regardless of how this season reaches its conclusion, whether it brings silverware back to north London or not, it has been a year of immense growth for the Gunners, who have reestablished themselves as part of England's elite once more.
Mikel Arteta is rightly winning plaudits for his work in reigniting the sleeping giant, yet it cannot be forgotten the place of torment that this success has been born from. Many called for the Spaniard's exit at points during his early reign, but through loyalty and a belief in the process, the hierarchy is now earning its rewards.
They backed him during his failures and now can look back on that decision with fondness.
However, their bank account did suffer on a few occasions in the pursuit of such glory.
2021 was a somewhat perplexing year for transfers, as the 41-year-old occasionally sought out lesser-known talent for what was thought to be cut prices. However, given the failures that some have turned into, they have actually turned into something of a drain on the club.
Perhaps masked by the fine acquisitions of the likes of Martin Odegaard, Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale, Albert Sambi Lokonga in particular has gone under the radar for far too long.
Will Albert Sambi Lokonga stay at Arsenal?
Having signed for £16m during that aforementioned summer, the Belgian came to England with rave reviews from his homeland where he had starred at Vincent Kompany's Anderlecht.
Handed a lucrative five-year contract worth £50k-per-week, this was an immense show of faith for the midfielder who had realistically shown little to suggest he was the answer to their midfield woes.
Fortunately, Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka have stood up to dominate the engine room for the season. Once again, Sambi Lokonga has disappointed.
A 6.93 Sofascore rating in a stuttered first season was far from unimpressive, but this campaign has seen his chances dwindle, lending to his loan move to Crystal Palace.
Finally, the 23-year-old had a chance to show his true talents in the Premier League unburdened by the expectations of an Arsenal player. However, his rating has subsequently dropped to 6.77, having not scored or assisted whilst recording just 1.1 tackles per game.
This failure had been one predicted by pundit Jamie O'Hara, who jokingly branded Arsenal "Banter FC" in 2021 before claiming: "Odegaard, Ramsdale, Ben White, Lokonga and Tavares. They've spent £135m on a B Team!"
Whilst the first three have gone on to make the talkSPORT presenter look foolish, becoming mainstays of this title-chasing side, his statement on the latter two remains quite true.
Arteta could seek to rectify this mistake in the summer by offloading him, in an effort to recoup any possible money so he can reinvest it properly this time.