It's funny how quickly things can change. On February 14th 2005, Arsenal became the first Premier League club to name a matchday squad without any British players.
At the time, manager Arsene Wenger used to make a point of saying that a passport did not matter him.
Fast forward nine years and Wenger wields a squad featuring six British or homegrown players, who are all relatively young and who can all expect to play key roles over the coming seasons.
An apparent belief that these homegrown players will show more loyalty than the likes of Samir Nasri or Robin Van Persie seems to have prompted Wenger into a change in policy which was only further confirmed with the €20m capture of Danny Welbeck from Manchester United.
As Man United lost what former assistant manager Mike Phelan described as its "identity" by selling off a local lad who had grown up in its own academy, Arsenal have continued to add to its British core which already features Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere (whose caption for the picture above made a point of highlighting Welbeck's nationality), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Calum Chambers and Theo Walcott.
Yet passports aside, Welbeck's arrival has not been greeted with excitement by many Arsenal fans in the hunt for a marquee striker to slot in for or even usurp the injured Olivier Giroud.
It is true that Welbeck has not shown himself to be a elite level goalscorer as of yet, with modest tallies during his Man United career.
But as ESPN's John Brewin rightly pointed out on Off The Ball last night, Welbeck is a Wenger-type of player due to his intelligence and ability to play in a number of positions in the forward line.
If you watch the England international play, his turn of pace and athleticism obviously catch the eye. But if you also watch him more closely, you notice a footballer of fine technical ability who tends to use the ball intelligently.
For a forward his 87 per cent pass completion rate from last season is excellent and well above the likes of Wayne Rooney (80 per cent) and Robin Van Persie (77 per cent) - granted that he plays less ambitious passes than Rooney.
But his ability to link up with team-mates efficiently makes him a good signing for Arsenal who require that kind of striker to make their game-plan work. In a more muscular and less pacey way, that is what Giroud has provided as a reference point.
Many may have thought that Radamel Falcao and his potency in front of goal was exactly what Arsenal required but as BBC South American football expert Tim Vickery has repeatedly pointed out on Off The Ball, the new Manchester United signing is quite ordinary with his back to goal. He is a striker who thrives in counter-attacking sides like Atletico Madrid where he gets on the end of moves, rather than getting directly involved in the type of build-ups that Arsenal favour.
While his goals-to-shot conversion rate of 25 per cent is actually quite good, taking a leaf out of Falcao's goalscoring books is one thing Welbeck can add to his game.
Thus far, the 23-year-old best season for goals saw him net 12 times in all competitions in 2011/12. The aim should be to push that tally closer to 20. He has some form for scoring key goals in big games with a header against Real Madrid in the 2012/13 Champions League second round and a well-taken flick against Sweden at Euro 2012. He also had what looked like a perfectly good goal ruled out in last season's Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich, even if he would go on to miss a presentable opportunity with ill-advised attempted chip on Manuel Neuer later in the game.
But the key is finding consistency and under Wenger's expert tutelage, he has the potential to grow that part of his game.
There are also no question marks over his character, with the Manchester native seen as a dedicated and hard worker which adds greater scope for development. Generally Arsenal players show those sort of traits which means Welbeck should fit in nicely.
And in any case, his gazelle-like style provides an upgrade on the promising but raw Yaya Sanogo who is still at the Bambi on ice stage of his career.
