Jack Wilshere has taken a step down by choosing to join Bournemouth on loan for the remainder 2016/17 season. Whatever way it's dressed up, this is not a move which takes his career forward.
Arsenal are a team whose ambitions are to win things. They may fall short too often in the Premier League and the Champions League, but that's still the level they're at. They play for the big prizes, while Bournemouth's first task this season is to ensure they stay in the Premier League.
Some would argue that it might be reflective of his recent trajectory, that his performances for Arsenal and England don't match the reputation he still holds. It's obvious he has great talent, but here we are almost eight years after his September 2008 debut for the club, and we're still waiting for all that potential to be realised.
There have been flashes of brilliance, and displays -- such as the one in 2011 in the Champions League round of 16 against Barcelona at the Emirates -- where he's looked the real deal. But those are more the exception than the rule. Injuries have stopped him developing the way he should. The lack of consistent, regular first team football means he's spent most of his career playing catch-up.
So, should it be that surprising he's decided the best thing for him is to play somewhere else? Certainly in terms of the options open to him in England, Bournemouth was the best fit. Eddie Howe is a progressive young manager who likes his teams to play passing football, and it's easy to see how Wilshere can benefit from that.
His profile means there's a measure of responsibility on him to perform and to help the team progress. Much depends on his fitness, of course, because it's that problem that has caused his Arsenal career to stagnate. If he remains available week in, week out, then we can start to judge him properly on his football.
Players and managers talk all the time about how important it is to be match fit. That's not simply the ability to last the 90 minutes, it's about being able to influence games, to find some form and rhythm and maintain that over a period of weeks and months.
When you're constantly trying, and failing, to get to that level, it becomes very difficult to play your best football. And there's no question it's been some time since we've seen Wilshere at his best. Only when he's had a consistent run in the Bournemouth team can we start making judgements about his influence, so it's hugely important he achieves that.
And yet for all the benefits he might accrue from being higher up the pecking order at a smaller club, you wonder will Arsene Wenger think differently of him because of his desire to leave. The Arsenal manager is a huge believer in Wilshere's talent, but might he have reservations about his character and his unwillingness to fight for a place at Arsenal.