The year is 2002, 21 years ago and the venue is Old Trafford. Arsenal can win the league at Sir Alex Ferguson's cathedral. Such an event, particularly for the Ferguson v Arsene Wenger rivalry would be remarkable.
So, did they do it? You already know the story, Martin Tyler narrated it so well. A Premiership title, the penultimate league crown Arsenal have won was the ending and Sylvain Wiltord was at the heart of it, a 1-0 win seeing the title head in the direction of north London.
The enigmatic Frenchman played in Freddie Ljungberg, sporting a luscious spiky barnet, who drew a save from Fabian Barthez. The goalkeeper could only parry it as far as his fellow countryman in Wiltord who found the net easily from close range.
The famous commentary from Tyler as his voice breaks is golden, as is the celebration. Off runs Wiltord who stands with one alarm aloft before Nwankwo Kanu leapfrogs him. It's iconic stuff and one that has gone down in Arsenal history as one of their greatest nights.
That said, Wiltord's time at Highbury wasn't all plain sailing.
Wiltord's numbers at Arsenal
After scoring a stoppage-time equaliser for his nation in the 2000 Euros final, the attacker found himself on his way to Arsenal, of course he did.
Wenger had a penchant for bringing the best French talent to the Gunners and for a club-record £13m, Wiltord was the latest.
It was a lot of money at the time, more than Patrick Vieira, more than Thierry Henry and more than Dennis Bergkamp too. That said, for such a sum they did not unearth a free-scoring machine.
During his debut term in England, the France international only scored eight times in 27 Premier League outings. It's not awful but a club-record man you'd expect far more.
The next year – that title-winning campaign – he improved on that, scoring ten top-flight goals, while also becoming a creative force with 12 assists in all competitions.
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Sylvain Wiltord's Arsenal career
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Season
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Games
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Goals
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Assists
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2000/01
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47
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15
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6
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2001/02
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53
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17
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12
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2002/03
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55
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13
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10
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2003/04
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20
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4
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2
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Stats via Transfermarkt.
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The trouble for Wiltord was, however, that Wenger couldn't find his best position. Versatility is known as a hot commodity right now but the £13m star arguably faltered because of it. He played up front, behind the striker and on both wings, all with varying levels of success.
That said, his time in London cannot be overlooked, purely for that night in Manchester over two decades ago.
Arsenal's new Sylvain Wiltord
The story of the energetic forward's time in the English capital is similar to a star now plying his trade at Arsenal.
Signed for £65m, Kai Havertz wasn't quite a club-record buy but he cost a vast sum of money and similarly, is struggling to find his best role at the Gunners.
With Arsenal in title contention we may well still get a famous night from Havertz, who has already shown he can do it on the big stage. It was his goal that won Chelsea the Champions League after all, gliding past Ederson before firing into an empty net. If the German could replicate that in red and white, he'd certainly pay back his transfer fee.
There are plenty of parallels, which were outlined on social media by Arsenal reporter Tim Stillman, who noted: "I think maybe because he’s never bad. It’s largely been a bit 6/10. I think tonight (vs Sevilla) was 7/10. No more no less. I don’t know,
"I guess I am thinking a bit Sylvain Wiltord? Arsenal broke their transfer record for him as a striker and he was never that player and he didn’t live up to the price tag but…we found really useful roles for him…?"
Of course, with Henry up top Wiltord was never going to be afforded the luxury of a regular role as the striker. Havertz isn't quite fighting with a player of his calibre but the German's best role – as a number 10 – isn't a system Arsenal tend to utilise. Instead, he's largely been fielded as a left #8 next to Martin Odegaard.
Such a role hasn't been best suited to the former Chelsea man. Havertz has only found the net once in Arsenal colours, although that was a penalty against relegation-threatened Bournemouth.
Dubbed "anonymous" by the Standard's Simon Collings, that is an apt choice of word. He is yet to register an assist in the league, has lost possession of the ball 79x and has missed three big chances. Problems are mounting for Havertz who has struggled all term long to prove he was worth such a large investment.
It's still early days but in the second half of the season the 24-year-old must do better.