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Arsenal is entering a defining period in their season, with the FA Cup up next for Mikel Arteta's side.
Arsenal's once-promising season could be on the verge of collapse within the space of a week if things don't go well.
The main thread to pull here is the lack of trophies under Mikel Arteta since the Spaniard arrived, with just one FA Cup title to his name.
The Carabao Cup was looming as the best chance for the Gunners to get a serious shot at silverware, but a 2-0 defeat to a ruthlessly efficient Newcastle side has put a major spanner in the works of that competition.
Now, with the daunting task of having to score at least two goals at St. James Park in the second leg and keep Alexander Isak and Co. quiet to have any chance at progressing, it is looming as a task too hard for the Gunners. Of course, funnier things have happened.
With so much doom and gloom around the team as things stand, there is a chance that it could get a lot worse over the next few days.
How so? Glad you asked.
Arsenal is next in action in the FA Cup against Manchester United at the Emirates, a tie that Arteta will feel comfortable his teams can progress past.
But what if they don't?
Granted, this is hypothetical, but if United manage to knock Arsenal out of the FA Cup, it will be back-to-back poor defeats for Arteta's side. With the task ahead of them against Newcastle, it might signal the end of any hope the club had of silverware.
Of course, there is still the Premier League, in which the Gunners are six points behind leaders Liverpool who have a game in hand, but right now, reeling in Arne Slot's side looks unlikely, not impossible, but unlikely.
As for the Champions League? Well, that feels like a bridge too far with how the Gunners are currently playing, but you never know.
Still, facing a 2-0 deficit in the Carabao Cup and being knocked out of the FA Cup by United would put a nasty-looking bow on what would have been a nasty week in north London.
Now, Arsenal could easily come out against United, take their chances, and win by multiple goals, and we hope that's the case.
But lose to United and another trophyless season under the guidance of Arteta will get another big step closer.
And the pitchforks begin to be sharpened.