Arsenal's relentless pursuit to end Manchester City's stranglehold on the Premier League failed this season, but as a club, they still took huge strides forward.

The hope will be that, following another summer of strong investment, Mikel Arteta can guide his team one step further and actually topple Pep Guardiola's seemingly unstoppable side, who could still claim a famous treble with two games of their campaign left to play.

What aided their progression last year was the gifts they were handed by their rivals, as the Cityzens gladly sanctioned the sales of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to the Emirates. Whilst both were unassuming deals for second-choice players on the surface, their impact was revolutionary.

Their shared title-winning mindset transformed the team, from a side that failed in their pursuit of the top four the year prior to having just finished second.

It seems like Guardiola is unable to learn from these mistakes too, as reports are suggesting he is once again willing to sell to these same rivals and their nearest competition in the race for next season's Premier League trophy.

Whilst he is clearly incensed to offload Joao Cancelo, as reported by Fabrizio Romano earlier this week, with Bayern Munich refusing to pay the €70m (£60m) buy-out clause, north London could instead mark his new permanent home.

Would Joao Cancelo be a success at Arsenal?

Seeing as Zinchenko allowed Arteta to fully disseminate his philosophy throughout the squad, becoming the key inverted full-back he desperately craved, securing another one would arguably perfect his system both defensively and offensively.

Given the success the Portugal international has had in such a role in recent years, there is precedent to believe that he could outdo sporting director Edu Gaspar's prior masterclass with the Ukrainian defender.

Having maintained a 7.07 average rating the term before moving, this year his 6.93 average rating somewhat belies his importance to the side. An 88% pass accuracy and 0.7 key passes per game outline him as a true creative threat from deep, with a 63% dribble success rate supplementing this, via Sofascore.

However, in his last full season at the Etihad, Cancelo surpassed these levels with ease, maintaining a 7.33 average rating and arguably bringing such an unknown position into the wider-known footballing world.

This figure was buoyed by his seven assists and 1.1 key passes, 2.3 tackles and 1.6 successful dribbles per game, via Sofascore. His ability to step into the midfield and forge chances spurred writer Michael Cox to coin his position the: "full-back-deep-playmaker".

Such unparalleled form even led former Aston Villa right-back Ahmed Elmohamady to write at the time: "PEP has improved so many players over the years but Cancelo became a world-class player".

Whilst Zinchenko has been exemplary, Cancelo walked so the 26-year-old could run. Guardiola fashioned this role from the qualities of the 29-year-old, so signing him could take them to another level, outdoing Edu's previous success in buying straight from an all too familiar rival.