Arsenal travelled to their FA Cup quarter-final against Sheffield United at the weekend with bad memories of Bramall Lane.
Last time the Gunners played at the stadium, they hit rock bottom with a miserable 1-0 defeat last October.
The toothless display kick-started a six-game winless win, culminating in the sacking of Unai Emery and appointment of Mikel Arteta.
After that game, former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra hit the headlines for his scathing assessment of the Gunners.
"I used to call them my babies 10 years ago and they're still, when I look at them, my babies and that's the truth,” Evra said on Sky Sports.
"I'm not being disrespectful when I say that, it's just the feeling I've got with this team.
"They look pretty, they look good, but they don't look like a winning team. They're just here playing good football.
"When I looked at Arsenal, I was so happy to play against Arsenal because I knew I was going to win.
"Even when Robin van Persie came, and the first time I shook his hand, I said 'welcome to a man's club’.”
His comments hit a nerve with then-captain Granit Xhaka.
The midfielder spoke out against the “bulls**t” claims and demanded respect as he appeared to defend their character.
“A lot of people speak too much,” fumed Xhaka. “I hear he speaks something against us.
“I have a lot of respect for him because he was a great player. But you have to be careful what you say in those situations as well.
"It’s not only him, it’s a lot of people. They speak a lot of bulls**t about us. It’s always the same.
“Maybe sometimes we play good, sometimes not so good. But if you speak every weekend, every game, bulls**t like this then they will not get respect for what they say.”
On their return to Bramall Lane, the scene where the war of words emerged, Arsenal’s new regime under Mikel Arteta appeared to vindicate Xhaka’s defence.
Whilst clear issues remain, they demonstrated their character to overcome a late David McGoldrick equaliser and net a stoppage time winner through Dani Ceballos.
There are clearly shortcomings still present in the Arsenal side, but determination was not one of them at Bramall Lane the second time around.
Since Arteta's appointment, the Gunners have become much harder to beat, with their recent Brighton blip just their second defeat in nine Premier League games.
There has appeared, on the whole, to be much more character from the Gunners under Arteta in games where they previously might have crumbled in the way Evra described after their previous Bramall Lane visit.
And that is likely to be a crucial ingredient if they are to truly change deep-rooted views of the club and restore former glories.
Fittingly, Xhaka ended the game with the captain’s armband after the withdrawal of Alexandre Lacazette as his side showed he was right to put his faith in them with a public defence against Evra’s assumptions.
