The football fixture gods have a funny way of bringing managerial narratives round full circle.
When Arsenal travel to Goodison Park to take on Everton it marks almost a year to the day when the fixture was played out in the Premier League.
In attendance that day were two newly appointed managers. Unusually both had been linked with each other's new jobs in the build up. Carlo Ancelotti's experience was viewed by some as the perfect for Arsenal's post-Wenger transition period, while Mikel Arteta's clear tactical vision and fresh ideas was being put forward as a solution for the problems on Merseyside.
As it was the ex-Chelsea boss ended up on Merseyside while, the Gunners opted for their former captain to take over. The drab 0-0 draw played out between the two clubs revealed to the watching coaches just how big the sizes of their respective tasks were. With the fixture coming full circle this Saturday it seems like a perfect time to look at who got the better deal.
Looking purely at face value right now, it is hard to make an argument for Arsenal. They currently sit 15th in the Premier League table having made their worst start since 1974, while Everton are legitimate Champions League contenders.
Mikel Arteta's lack of experience has been shown up as Arsenal have gone through what the Spaniard described himself as "one of the most challenging years of the club’s history."
A pandemic and its financial implications, a board reshuffle and public fall-outs with players like Matteo Guendouzi, Nicolas Pepe and Mesut Ozil have all been thrown at the Spaniard in his first twelve months in charge and at times he has struggled.
Comparatively, Ancelotti's time at Everton has been relatively relaxed. A bloated squad, lofty (and arguably unrealistic) ambitions and of course COVID have raised little more than signature raised eyebrow from the Italian.
His laid back charm while disarming concerned doubters with tales of Filippo Inzaghi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been almost Arsene Wenger-like in their serenity. Former Gunner Alex Iwobi picked up on the comparison.
“The way they trust their tactics is one of a kind, it’s almost like playing for the same manager," said the Nigerian.
"They both want the best out of their players, they give an opportunity to each and every player and the youngsters in cup games and use the whole squad, everyone is involved.
“It’s almost like playing under the same manager and the accomplishments speak for themselves what they’ve been able to achieve. I’m lucky to play under both managers.”
Be that as it may at Goodison Park it's worth questioning whether such a serene approach was what was required at the Emirates.
In the absence of the dressing room leaders of the early Wenger era, standard of discipline had began to collapse at London Colney.
Unai Emery 's decision to let the players decide who would become captain after Laurent Koscielny 's departure showed exactly where the power lay within the club.
A cultural revolution was required at Arsenal and Ancelotti would not have been the man to do it.
His relaxed approach ultimately was his downfall during his ill-fated spell at Bayern. Newly crowned FIFA World Player of the Year Robert Lewandowski was not a fan of his methods.
"If there's not enough training then you have do something individually," said the Polish striker in 2017.
Former Bayern and Germany physio Oliver Schmidtlein added to those comments by implying further discontent at relaxed mood of the Italian.
"We heard that Carlo Ancelotti's training was not very comprehensive" he told Sky.
"Players were not allowed to do any extra training, nor carry out any athletic sessions. There was not a real warm-up either -- players reported that lasted only five minutes.
"When the players themselves say it's not enough, then it is a surprise."
Mikel Arteta may not be achieving the results at the moment, but one thing he has been hell-bent on bringing in to the Emirates has been discipline.
football.london was able to reveal last season that training sessions since the Spaniard's arrival have been conducted with intense tactical focus.
If he is given time then at the very least Arteta will be able to oversee the evolution of Arsenal's squad mentality into that of an elite group in a way that Ancelotti simply wouldn't have done.
Everton certainly got what they needed in the Italian, but so did Arsenal with Mikel Arteta.
