It's almost a year ago to the day that Mikel Arteta tested positive for COVID-19.
While the implications of that diagnosis are now well known, what is often forgotten is that on the night Arsenal faced the grim prospect of travelling to the Etihad to play Manchester City.
With 90 minutes that had previously been set aside for watching what would likely have been another humiliation at the hands of Pep Guardiola's side suddenly free is most Gooners' diaries, the vast majority set about tuning into watch Liverpool's second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Atletico Madrid.
It was there that many witnessed for the first time the true brilliance of Thomas Partey.
The Ghanaian put in the complete defensive midfield performance recovering the ball 19 times, winning five tackles, completing four interceptions, interceptions, making four clearances and blocking a further two shots as Diego Simeone's underdogs shocked the runaway Premier League leaders and Champions League holders.
After the match though, an admittedly raw Jurgen Klopp, questioned why Atleti had opted for the defensive approach he had gone for on the night when it was clear he had a team capable of doing so much more.
“It’s so difficult to play against a side like that. I don’t understand with the quality they have that they play this kind of football, I don’t understand to be honest."
It was a feeling that resonated every time regular observers of La Liga saw Partey turn out in an Atletico Madrid shirt.
Simeone is a rigorous task master who elected to play the game in a manner that focuses on nullifying opposition strengths rather than accentuating those of his own side. To be fair to El Cholo after two Europa League, two UEFA Super Cups, one La Liga and one Copa del Rey in the space of a decade it's hard to argue against its efficacy.
But here stood Partey, a wonderfully gifted midfielder who had all the talent and ability to master almost every aspect of perhaps the most complex position in football, being restricted to a side of his game that, while admittedly excellent, held him back from being able to show his true self.
It was for this reason that the Ghanaian felt he had to break free last summer.
Staying at the Wanda Metropolitano where he would currently be challenging for the La Liga title would undoubtedly have been the safe bet for Partey, but it was the desire to be able to demonstrate the true all round nature of his game that brought him to Arsenal and Mikel Arteta.
Since his arrival though it has been frustratingly stop start.
An excellent display against Manchester United was followed by a month long injury lay off with a thigh strain just as Arsenal began on one of the worst winless runs in the club's history.
He was rushed back against Spurs for the North London Derby in December but this again proved to be a false start as he limped off having only worsened the injury before even making it to half time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in what has retrospectively come to be seen as one the low points of the Gunners season.
Again he returned to put in a fine series of displays against Crystal Palace, Southampton and most specifically Wolves before a third recurrence of the familiar thigh problem returned to rule him out for another two weeks.
Speaking ahead of the crunch match against Olympiacos in the Europa League Round of 16 the Partey singled out those displays at Old Trafford and Molineux as the few times where he has felt able to show himself at 100% in an Arsenal shirt.
In the victory over the Red Devils he was able to make an incredible 12 progressive carries, while against Nuno Espirito Santo's side despite playing just 78 minutes for a side who spent much of the game reduced to nine men, he managed five successful dribbles.
By way of comparison, in 129 minutes for the 11 men of Atletico Madrid on that now infamous night at Anfield, Partey made just two.
Nearly six months in to his time at the Emirates and it is clear that he still desperate to show the world everything Partey has to offer not just in a defensive sense, but in an attacking one too.
"I think that’s how I play," he said, when asked if Arteta had demanded to see more of his box-to-box dribbling ability come to the fore.
"When you look at how I play I like to create spaces for my mates, I like take the ball with me and go to the attacking phase. It’s something that they seen in me, they got me here to do more.
"So I think when I am on my feet and when I am able to give 100% I will be able to give more which is very important for the strikers and all the attackers to be able to enjoy."
As Arsenal approach the most important stage of their season, finally being able to call on the services of their big-money summer signing may just be what's required to get them over the line.
There is of course the fear that this will be another false dawn for the Ghanaian for whom is safe to the best is definitely yet to come.
