Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy on Tuesday afternoon, just two years after Granit Xhaka lost the armband.
Mikel Arteta's decision to banish the Gabon international from his "leadership group" is a worrying sign for Gunners fans, as it suggests the club are back to square one.
When Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy in November 2019, Arsenal were fifth in the Premier League under previous manager Unai Emery - six points off the top four.
"I had a meeting with him and told him he is no longer in the captain's group," said the Spanish coach. "He accepted my decision. I needed to take a decision and now it's closed."
Emery was relieved of his duties before the end of the month, with Arsenal legend Martin Keown insisting he feels "very sad" about the team's plight.
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"We’re going only one way at the moment," said Keown after a 2-1 Europa League defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt, shortly before Emery's sacking. "This is relegation form.
"Do the club really realise how tricky this is now going to be? Decisions have got to be made.
"There are some football people at the top of the club – make the decisions that need to be made because otherwise, Arsenal are going to plunge even further down the table.
"I feel it’s very sad. The fans, there was hardly anyone there tonight, they’ve voted with their feet. They knew what was coming there."
Aubameyang was appointed Xhaka's successor, while Arteta replaced Emery. And, for much of that time, Arsenal have made strides forward.
Arteta won the FA Cup in his first season in charge and, after a tricky second term, was level on points with West Ham in fourth by the end of November.
But, after three defeats in their last five Premier League games, the warning signs are there again - and Arteta's comments on the captaincy saga feel all too familiar.
"Well we have the leadership group and we have different players who have been nominated to be captain, in the last game it was Laca [Alexandre Lacazette]," said the manager when asked about his next captain.
"We had had Granit [Xhaka] who has been captain as well, so we will follow that."
Just over two years after being stripped of the captaincy, Xhaka is back in the leadership group and the team's Premier League position hasn't changed.
Despite this, Arsenal haven't gone full circle. They've improved under Arteta and, although they're struggling right now, the future does look bright.
Their recruitment in the summer was impressive and, after a couple more transfer windows, they could be capable of challenging for Champions League football again.
"We’re going to continue to be aggressive and when we see areas where we can improve the club on and off the pitch we’re going to keep doing it," Josh Kroenke has promised.
But the similarities between Xhaka's and Aubameyang's dismissal as captain is still a worry. Arteta must ensure they're not in the same situation again in two years.
