All it took was a matter of days for Eddie Nketiah to change Mikel Arteta’s mind.
When he arrived back from his curtailed spell with Leeds United earlier this month, the initial plan was for Nketiah to be loaned out again, to get him the game time he would need during the second half of the season.
Discussions about potential clubs had already taken place before he walked back through the door at London Colney, with Bristol City confident that they would finally get the young forward they had been so close to acquiring in the summer.
But before anything happened, Arteta wanted to see the 20-year-old in action.
Arsenal’s head coach had actually worked with the striker before. When he was edging towards the end of his own playing days at the Emirates Stadium in 2017, the Spaniard spent time coaching some of the youth teams at the club’s Hale End academy and Nketiah was one of the players he worked with.
But a lot of time has passed since then and Arteta was keen to see how much the forward had developed before making a final decision on what would be best for him over the coming months.
“We have to sit down with the loan department and discuss the best possible way for him to keep developing,” said Arteta, soon after Nketiah had been recalled from Leeds.
During his time under the guidance of Marcelo Bielsa at Elland Road, Arsenal’s young forward featured 17 times in the Championship, but just two of those appearances were from the start.
In all he scored five goals in 19 games for the Premier League promotion hopefuls before his loan spell in Yorkshire was cut short.
“The environment he's been living in has improved him as a player, 100 per cent,” said Arteta.
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“He played some minutes, not as much as we wanted, but he's a kid with incredible potential and we have to make a decision for the club, not for the next four months, but for his career.
“What's the best thing to do? We have to sit down with him, hear from him, that's very important because we need to know what he needs as well, and make the right decision for the next five months.”
The plan was still for Nketiah to eventually be loaned out.
Interest in the striker was huge, with clubs from across Europe having contacted Arsenal to throw their hat into the ring to take him for the second half of the season,
The shortlist was narrowed down to three, just as it had been in the summer, with extensive talks taking place between Nketiah, his representatives and Ben Knapper, Arsenal’s loan manager.
Bristol City, who were so close to landing Nketiah ahead of Leeds in the summer that they even had him booked in for a medical, were favourites and a deal looked imminent when the England Under-21 international was listed - albeit briefly - as on loan with the Robins on the official Arsenal website.
That error was quickly corrected, however, with sources at Arsenal insisting that nothing had been agreed with City or the two other Championship clubs Nketiah had been in talks with, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday.
And then, less than 48 hours later, it emerged that Arteta had decided to keep hold of Nketiah for the remainder of the season.
It was a remarkable turnaround and one that shows just how impressive Nketiah has been in training since returning from Leeds.
This isn’t a decision that has been made purely because Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is going to miss Arsenal’s next three games due to suspension.
It’s a decision that’s been made because Arteta now believes that Nketiah has an important part to play in the second half of the season in north London.
“We have to think mid-to-long term with Eddie,” said the Gunners’ head coach, when asked about Nketiah filling in for the suspended Aubameyang.
“We have to respect his evolution and development. We don’t make a decision just based on two or three games.”
Arsenal rate Nketiah highly. When he was sent out to Leeds in the summer it was made clear that it was not a loan designed to raise his value before selling. It was purely about development, about getting him the game time he needed so he could return to London ready to make his mark with the first-team.
That transition now appears to have been fast-tracked and the next few months will ultimately determine whether it has been the correct one.
The worry though is that, just like last season, Nketiah will not get enough games. The reason he was recalled from Leeds was because he was not getting enough minutes, but with Aubameyang to return from his ban in just three matches' time, Nketiah will soon find his opportunities limited once again.
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Alexandre Lacazette may be going through a drought in front of goal, but his strength and link-up play still make him a vitally important part of the side.
Arteta has shown since he arrived that he likes to play with only one central striker, which has been Lacazette, with Aubameyang operating on the left and one of either Nicolas Pepe or Reiss Nelson on the right.
As talented as Nketiah is, it's difficult to see him playing in one of the wider roles, especially when you consider Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka are also available.
Nketiah's big strengths are his finishing and his ability to find space in the box. But that puts him in direct competition with Lacazette, just as it did last season, and the France international will always be ahead of him in the pecking order.
Nketiah was all set to join German side Augsburg on loan last January, but Unai Emery pulled the plug on the deal at the last minute and decided to keep the young forward in his squad. Nketiah would go on to feature in just four Premier League games, however, before the end of the campaign with only one of those appearances coming from the start.
It felt like a wasted few months in the striker's development and the danger is that could happen again now the decision has been taken not to send Nketiah back out on loan.
Nketiah has total belief in his own ability and will certainly back himself to make an impact, but whether he gets enough chances to do that remains to be seen.