Mikel Arteta has discarded a lot of players in his time as Arsenal manager, rebuilding the squad into a title-challenging one.
Hardly any players remain from the starting XI from his first game in charge, with elite talents such as Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli becoming key players under his coaching, whilst the likes of Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were ushered out after fallouts with the Spaniard.
Arsenal now have a young squad challenging at the top of the Premier League, but some of Arteta’s outcasts are doing well elsewhere. Aubameyang for example, recently became the all-time top scorer in Europa League history.
Two of his former stars are now playing together at Olympique Lyonnais in France, and the pair combined to score a fantastic goal in what became a historical comeback victory.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Alexandre Lacazette combine for Lyon equaliser
Former Hale End graduate Ainsley Maitland-Niles departed Arsenal last summer on a free transfer after a few difficult years, and linked up with former striker Alexandre Lacazette in Ligue 1 for Lyon.
Lyon have had a difficult season, finding themselves bottom of the table by December, but a recent resurgence has meant that the French giants are now in seventh place.
They did, however, find themselves 3-2 down away at Lille, who had lost just one home game all season, and by the 87th minute, it would have been easy to write Lyon off.
READ MORE: Arsenal’s XI for Mikel Arteta’s first match as manager
What happened next was magical. Maitland-Niles, who had come on as a half-time substitute at left-back, whipped in a perfect cross to Lacazette, who slammed home an equaliser in the 88th minute.
Lyon then found the winning goal in the 92nd minute, securing a dramatic victory, and the Arsenal pair had delivered when their side needed them.
How Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Alexandre Lacazette eventually failed at Arsenal
At the end of Arteta’s first season at Arsenal, the Gunners won the FA Cup with a victory over Chelsea, and both Maitland-Niles and Lacazette started in the final at Wembley.
Both were regarded as starters for Arteta, with Maitland-Niles even earning an England call-up after some outstanding displays as a left-wing back.
However, he then expressed a desire to play in midfield, and six months after Arsenal rejected interest from Wolves, he found himself on loan at West Brom.
Maitland-Niles failed to impress in midfield before returning to the club, but was eventually loaned to Roman and Southampton before departing for free, and has since admitted that he still wants Arsenal to win the Premier League.
Lacazette has found his goalscoring form again, but it was a different story in his final season at Arsenal as he failed to deliver in the top-four race before being dropped in favour of Eddie Nketiah, and the club decided not to renew his contract, allowing him to make a heroic return to Lyon.