For the likes of Reiss Nelson opportunities to impress may be few and far between in the weeks between now and the closure of the transfer window.
There are scarcely 10 days for Arsenal to decide how best to manage a squad overburdened with numbers, to craft a group that is both well-stocked enough to deal with European and domestic fixtures but sufficiently lean to ensure everyone gets a chance to prove themselves.
In such circumstances Nelson, the jewel in the Hale End crown a few years ago, is at risk of atrophying. It is no great surprise that Arsenal should have indicated to him that, for this season at least, they believe he will not get enough chances under Mikel Arteta this season.
It was not what the boyhood Arsenal fan wanted to hear.
Those close to Nelson say he was insistent throughout the summer that he would not be going on loan despite advice to the contrary from his inner circle. The arrival of Willian and emergence of Bukayo Saka ahead of schedule had thrown down gauntlets for the 20-year-old but he was determined to rise to the challenge.
Then came the realities of the new season and the simple fact that the wing depth chart for Arsenal looks fearsome for any player with only 20 Premier League games to his name. Willian, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bukayo Saka and Nicolas Pepe would all sit ahead of Nelson in the pecking order, as would Gabriel Martinelli come his return in the new year.
Arteta thinks highly of Nelson, whose progress he has been tracking since he was a club captain and the No.24 was a teenager, but equally he and Edu are of the belief that his development is not best served on the fringes of the matchday squad.
Arsenal would be prepared to let him go on loan, a decision they have made so recently that offers for his services are yet to materialise - but football.london understands that Nelson himself has not entirely given up on changing Arteta's mind.
That much was apparent from the outset at the King Power. Nelson started the match with an intensity that belies a competition that feels even more like an inconvenience in the current climate.
As Marc Albrighton dawdled in possession Nelson snapped at his heels. Saka was running on his outside as he won possession back but the forward only had eyes for goal, stepping infield and curling for the far corner. A few inches lower and he would have had his vindicating moment.
He continued to search for it. Whenever a team-mate was in possession he was looking to spin in between Daniel Amartey and Wes Morgan, constantly searching for moments when he could drive at Leicester's veteran centre-back.
At its worst you sensed Nelson might be too keen to prove a point, too eager to cap his return with a match-defining contribution.
But more often this was a match where the young forward was at his best: his remorseless pressing of Danny Ward brought Arsenal a fine chance in the 56th minute, the goalkeeper skewing a clearance straight to Eddie Nketiah.
And yet this game also served as a healthy reminder of the challenge ahead of the winger as he bids to fulfil his youthful promise and establish himself at Arsenal. Though Nelson was a paragon of creativity and industry down the left Bukayo Saka could not help but shine that little bit brighter.
From what was nominally a more defensive wing-back role Saka terrorised Leicester, flashing a cross along the goalline midway through the half that was begging Eddie Nketiah or Nicolas Pepe to get a touch.
Amartey, playing his first game in 23 months, was powerless to stop Saka whenever the youngster built up a head of steam and ought to be adding Peter Bankes to his Christmas card list after the referee declined to give a penalty for what was a clear foul on Arsenal's 19-year-old.
The challenge posed by Saka in particular seems inescapable for Nelson, almost as though even in the formative years of his own career he is at risk of being usurped by a younger model.
Yet that does not mean that Nelson will not develop into a valuable player for Arsenal. In just his third start in six months he proved that there is a talent that merits real opportunities. He will not be short of suitors over the coming days, as recently as January Bayer Leverkusen were pushing to secure his temporary signature.
Pick the right landing spot for Nelson and there is a talent ready to flourish free from the overbearing pressure that comes when you have to make an impression with every start.
