Unai Emery can finally see the funny side about failing to sign Alexandre Lacazette for Paris St Germain as he is now benefitting from the French forward's goals for Arsenal.
New Arsenal coach Emery wanted to team Lacazette up with Neymar and Edinson Cavani before PSG swooped for Kylian Mbappe.
Lacazette moved to Arsenal instead in then a club record £46.5m down payment and hit the ground running with 18 goals in his first and only season under Arsene Wenger.
Now the 27-year-old has forced his way into Emery's plans with five goals and three assists in 10 games this season, despite not starting the first three matches this season and averaging less than 60 minutes per game.
That is the sort of form that prompted Emery to suggest his previous club try to beat Arsenal to the signature of the former Lyon hitman.
He said he could not compare his Arsenal striker force to the PSG front three, but revealed: 'When I arrived at PSG we were thinking to sign Lacazette.
'We liked his quality and his characteristics and the people who were working there said to us: "This player has the quality to play for PSG".
'He was at Lyon and it wasn't easy to sign a player from there for PSG, but he was an option for us.'
Emery is hoping Lacazette will continue his rich run of form in Monday night's match against Leicester City, as he believes the best is yet to come from a player currently being kept out of the French national side by Didier Deschamps' preference for ex-Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud.
Emery explained his approach for improving the player they affectionately call Laca and added: 'We speak all the time.
'For him, last year, his first year in the Premier League was different to what he was used to in the French league.
'Also he had to adapt his position and the rhythm also, but not the mentality because he has a very good mentality. And when he has good chances he usually scores. He is very efficient.
'Now he needs to continue his adaptation for us, for the Premier League, for the rhythm.
'This season we are looking at him to take one step more in this level. We are very happy but my message to him is: 'Every day, don't stop'.
'Don't stop in training, don't stop in matches, carry on to find your best performance.
'And he has been doing that. I believe in him and in the other players.'
Arsenal can make it ten wins in a row in all competitions by beating Leicester.
That would mark a personal best run of victories for the modest Emery, who despite a trophy-laden career with the likes of Spartak Moscow, Sevilla and PSG has never made it to ten. Indeed, he is only three short of matching Wenger's best ever Arsenal winning streak, which stretched over two seasons.
Not that Emery seemed aware of the landmark when quizzed on it. He commented: 'I don't look behind, but I look forward and my focus is not on breaking my statistics.
'I just think about winning the next match and that is against Leicester.
'If we thinking it will be easy that will be a weakness. We can not look back to our last matches to help us win.
'We need to continue in the same way and keep our demands very high.'