Seeing as it's the start of January, an analogy that picks apart your new year resolutions seems a fitting way to explain Sambi Lokonga's situation at Arsenal.
At some point in your life, you've thought it would be a good idea to go to the gym.
The first thing you do is jump on the treadmill - it's familiar, safe, the easy option. It'll be a breeze. It doesn't scare you like the other machines so what could go wrong.
Next thing you know, you've somehow set the speed to 15 and you're running before you can walk, stomping along for dear life while all the gym veterans look at you and think, 'here's our annual new year resolution gym-goer again, they won't last long...'
And, while Lokonga is far from a novice, he's been out of the gym and Mikel Arteta needs to make sure he can walk before he can run on - long story short, Arsenal need to warm the 22-year-old up before the Gunners' big games come around.
So, Tom Canton and Umar Choudhry spoke live on The Arsenal Way 'Agenda Show' to delve into Lokonga's situation at Arsenal, why he hasn't started since November and whether fans should be worried about the youngster's development.
Umar kickstarted proceedings by outlining how Arteta has now been left with no choice as to whether the Belgian should feature against Nottingham Forest, else Lokonga will find himself getting on the treadmill without a warm-up, so to say.
"It is important," he said. "Ainsley Maitland-Niles is on the way out to Roma, Partey is obviously at the Africa Cup of Nations and so is Mohamed Elneny so you can't not play Lokonga."
Umar added by noting that Lokonga has suffered from Covid since he last put on a red and white shirt, forcing him to miss out on crucial opportunities under Arteta - even upon his return, due to the tough competition for places amid the side's dazzling December form.
"He suffered from Covid and he needs to get that fitness back," he said. "Playing games is completely different to training so I would play him against Forest, 60 minutes or so ."
Umar then concluded by claiming that Lokonga's latest absence doesn't stand the club in good stead ahead of the tougher fixtures on the horizon.
"At least he'll then have that under his belt, it's better than not playing at all. Otherwise, you'll be chucking him into such big games against Liverpool and Tottenham which would be a detriment to his form."
Lokonga's level of involvement and performance against Forest could influence Edu's next move in the January transfer market.
If the Belgian were to be out of the frame - for argument sake - in a starting capacity against either, or both, Liverpool or Spurs then Arteta would be left with limited options at his disposal.
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