When Arsene Wenger gave the latest update on his contract situation with the club, the Arsenal manager revealed he had made his decision, but there were still a few more boxes to be tickedbefore anything could be confirmed.
Now, the immediate thought after that was to think that, "all Arsenal are doing is waiting for the right moment to announce Wenger signing a new deal."
But as time has passed, some whispers have grown and kept growing, whispers of a major change being afoot at the club.
Not the change of Wenger leaving Arsenal – that isn't going to happen as yet is it – but of a familiar, much beloved face returning to the club in an official capacity.
Invincible return?
For a long time now, the names of Thierry Henry, Arsenal's record goalscorer, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires and more have been bandied around as possible successors to Wenger or as the ideal candidate to take over a new role as the director of football.
Pires, in the past, has even admitted he would love to move into the director of football role at Arsenal, with the Frenchman still very much a part of the club, considering he trains with the first-team players on a regular basis.
Henry, Vieira and Bergkamp have been tipped for coaching roles, but none of them have been deemed experienced enough to take over the hot seat at Arsenal, if and when Wenger does decide to call it a day.
Director of football
There have also been rumours that Wenger could move upstairs, take over the director of football role – there is no such position at Arsenal at the moment – with one of his former players then being appointed as the head coach.
If there ever is a way to appease the fans, that might very well be it.
Bring in Henry, Vieira or Bergkamp or more than just the one of them, let Wenger stay at the club in a different capacity and try and move on from the "Groundhog Day" feeling Arsenal are suffering from at the moment.
Maybe, when Wenger said there are still a few things to work out, that is what he meant – a big name of the recent past is coming and they are going to take over an official role at the club – be that the as manager, assistant manager or director of football.
Will that be enough for the fans?
While fans might get on board with an Henry or Vieira taking over as the manager – the Daily Express put out a report on Sunday that suggested it could be Henry – they might not be too keen on Wenger staying on as the head coach, with one of the Invincibles moving onto that role upstairs.
Too much has gone on this season and in the recent past for the fans from the "Wenger out" side to be appeased with what will be seen as a token appointment. Because, as long as Wenger is in charge of all footballing matters, how much will change, really?
Henry, Bergkamp or Vieira?
However, bring a Vieira, Bergkamp or Henry as the head coach – maybe even the assistant manager, with the set purpose of taking over as the manager after one season – then all the negativity surrounding Arsenal might just die down.
Vieira is currently the manager of MLS side New York City FC, while Henry is one of Roberto Martinez's assistant with the Belgium national football team. So, both of them have experience, even if not the top level experience that Arsenal would have liked.
Who knows, though? Maybe it might turn out to be an inspired appointment, much like when a relatively unknown Wenger was named the new Arsenal manager way back in 1996.
And some inspiration is definitely what Arsenal require at the moment.
