Joe Willock completed a £25million move to Newcastle United back in August, with Arsenal making the decision to let one of their brightest prospects leave the club.
The 22-year-old, who has featured twice in the Premier League for the Magpies since switching to Tyneside last month, spent the second half of last season on loan with Steve Bruce 's team.
Willock shocked plenty of people, maybe even himself, in his six-month loan with Newcastle, where he scored in each of the last seven Premier League games of the season - meaning he won the competition's Player of the Month award for May.
Understandably, Bruce was desperate to secure the permanent signing of the former Arsenal midfielder, and he got his man after the two Premier League clubs reached an agreement over a £25million fee.
Now, almost a month on from when the deal was confirmed, Arsenal supporters are still debating whether allowing Willock to leave the Emirates Stadium over the summer was the right decision - and they are divided somewhat.
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson recently wrote in his Sky Sports column that the Gunners made a mistake in selling Willock.
Merson said: “Why are Aston Villa getting players like [Danny] Ings, Emiliano Buendia instead of Arsenal?
“Who is making these decisions? Surely these players would have been on Arsenal’s radar.
"Arsenal have let Joe Willock go for £25million. What for? Surely, he had a future at the club, surely the coaches at Arsenal could improve him. Why have Willock on the books in the first place if you don't rate him.
“They got £25million for a kid [Willock] who knows the club, loves the club, and then spent it all on [Martin] Odegaard who scored two goals last year.
“What would have happened if Willock got a run in the team? He might have gone and done what he did at Newcastle and get seven goals in seven, who knows.”
