Mikel Arteta wasn't prepared to let Arsenal starlet Charlie Patino leave on a permanent deal last summer, but the manager appears to have changed his stance.
Patino broke through at Arsenal as a teenager, scoring on his debut in a League Cup victory over Sunderland. He made a Premier League matchday squad on several occasions during the 2021-22 season, but his only other Gunners appearance came in the FA Cup.
After a productive season on loan in the Championship with Blackpool, the midfielder found himself at a crossroads last summer. He was understood to want a permanent exit, but instead had to make do with another loan - this time to Swansea City.
Finally, though, Patino has got his wish. The Gunners have reached an agreement to sell the 20-year-old to Deportivo La Coruna, and he will move to his father's home country of Spain if personal terms can be agreed.
"I think that is very positive [that the fans were singing his name]," Arteta said after Patino scored his debut goal. "They heard about him and know what he can become and now we have to cook him slowly.
"Today was a good start, I think. [Too much expectation around him] is what we have to avoid," he added. Patino's second senior game wasn't as productive as his first, with Arteta withdrawing him 20 minutes from the end of a cup defeat away to Nottingham Forest - at the time still a Championship club.
Patino racked up more than 70 senior appearances over the last two seasons, scoring seven times in all competitions. However, he is now expected to continue his career with a Depor side who won promotion back to Spain's second tier last season.
Depor, whose squad also includes former Arsenal striker Lucas Perez, will pay just £1m for Patino. There will be a significant sell-on clause, though, ensuring Arsenal can reap the rewards if the Spanish club later sell him at a profit.
The Gunners have already benefited from such a clause this week. Former Arsenal youngster Mark McGuinness has joined Luton Town from Cardiff City, with the Premier League side bringing in £2m of the £10m fee due to a clause inserted when he moved to the Welsh capital.
Arsenal are still expected to complete one more big move themselves before the end of the window. Mikel Merino is due to join from Real Sociedad, whose president Jokin Aperribay opened up on discussions this week.
"Mikel feels very much like a Real fan, but he told us that, if a Premier League team came, he wanted to fulfil his dream of returning to the Premier League and trying to be successful and that, if not, we would talk about renewing," he said.
"When I was in Japan [during pre-season], [sporting director] Roberto [Olabe] called to tell me that Arsenal had called us and from that conversation we knew that Mikel was going to say yes to Arsenal. We would have liked him not to have come or to have done it earlier."