As the whistle blew to get Manchester United's reverse Premier League meeting with West Ham United underway, another record for David de Gea was confirmed. It was his 540th appearance for United - surpassing Alex Stepney as the goalkeeper with the most appearances for the club.
Reaching such a milestone at a club of United's prestige is no mean feat - you don't achieve that without being an outstanding goalkeeper and undoubtedly a club legend. He may be slighted for not being part of a massively successful period in United's history, but he was part of the last title winning side and only elevated his game beyond that.
There were many seasons during which United would have been worse off without his influence, hence why he has won four Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year awards and four Players' Player of the Year awards.
However, he has recently become a polarising figure among fans, particularly on social media. It is no doubt irritating that people seem unable to appreciate his past influence when criticising him in the now, but there is reason behind the criticism.
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The reality is that you have to be multi-faceted as a goalkeeper in the modern game. The skillset required to be an elite goalkeeper has changed over the 12 years De Gea has been at United, and there are viable doubts as to whether De Gea can keep up with this and adapt his game enough.
His shot-stopping has always been singled out as his strongpoint, whether with his hands or with his feet. He has some of the best reflexes the art of goalkeeping has seen, and this has seen him make a catalogue of incredible saves to bail United out over the years.
Despite the criticism he has endured this season, he does lead the Premier League Golden Glove race having kept 15 clean sheets so far this term. However, it is hard to quantify how much of that can be attributed to De Gea, and how much credit should go to a revitalised defence.
There is actually some evidence to suggest De Gea is more of a maker of great saves than an excellent shot-stopper. He has conceded more goals than the expected goals he has faced suggests, which does suggest the fashion in which he produces some saves could mask other weaknesses.
There is no hiding that De Gea has a knack for producing the odd error too, certainly in particular seasons, such as when it took him a period of time to overcome a difficult, error-strewn 2018 World Cup for Spain. He has made four errors in all competitions this season - level-most from all Premier League players along with Hugo Lloris.
Of course, errors from goalkeepers are amplified given the jeopardy associated with the position, but that is part of the peril associated with the role.
Against West Ham, a fairly weak effort from range by Said Benrahma saw De Gea inexplicably fumble the ball; it was the sort of ambitious, yet poorly-executed, attempt that elicited a collective sound of dismay among the home fans. United had lost the ball through a messy exchange between Luke Shaw and Casemiro, but De Gea could easily have stopped the shot.
Marcus Rashford's glance towards Erik ten Hag was a telling look of disbelief. There was also a look of bafflement towards De Gea from his defenders.
United were in full control before that blunder, but they lost their way after conceding. A litany of missed chances cost them too, though it still exemplified how De Gea, for all the credit he deserves for his save-making over the years and at times this season, can set United on the back foot.
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The mistake against West Ham had parallels to a similar gaffe against Brentford at the start of the season, when De Gea let an attempt beneath him. Further errors came against Everton, when De Gea was strangely caught holding his post, and away to Sevilla, when he was seemingly caught in two minds between controlling the ball and passing. The latter saw him miss the ball in no man's land and gift Youssef En-Nesyri an open goal.
The mishap in Spain outlined something different - in terms of technical ability and decision-making - and showed the side which is making De Gea's brand of goalkeeper somewhat outdated. His shot-stopping is justifiably lauded at times, but there are few other standout qualities, holding De Gea back from being particularly multi-dimensional.
One of Ten Hag's primary aims from his sides is for them to dominate possession, yet he is restricted by having a goalkeeper whose standout quality isn't his distribution.
It is no secret that De Gea lacks much technical ability. He can often go awry when he tries complex passes, and even sometimes when attempting some theoretically more straightforward passes too. Errors not counting as having led directly to goals have been a legacy of De Gea's passes.
A pass that put Christian Eriksen under pressure against Brentford in the 4-0 rout saw United concede, and there were concerning parallels when he played to Harry Maguire against Sevilla despite the centre-back being surrounded by three players, also leading to a goal.
It felt a sign that he hasn't adapted enough since the start of the season, with De Gea often culpable of inviting pressure.
Both of these occasions brought his decision-making into real question, with a struggle to spot pressing traps. Lisandro Martinez has often bailed De Gea out in these instances given his profound levels of press resistance, but Maguire lacks the same mobility and thus De Gea's pass choice, not for the first time, was shown to be hugely flawed against Sevilla.
Even against West Ham, loose passes saw De Gea have to be saved by his teammates; Wout Weghorst tracked all the way back to make one robust slide tackle in his own penalty area following a De Gea giveaway.
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A lack of trust from De Gea's teammates has started to show at times. He won't always be used as an option when United do have the ball, which by contrast to other top sides, means United almost play with a man down given many teams now use their goalkeeper almost as an 11th outfield player.
When De Gea does have the ball, the approach has too often been to go long - something that has especially been the case in second halves as the team tire. It seems evident he still doesn't fully trust himself to play out from the back, either - sometimes shown by merely playing the ball out of play when under pressure.
Playing out from the back has scarcely been a staple of any of United's performances this season.
A lack of proactivity in De Gea's game is another issue that limits what Ten Hag is able to achieve. A high defensive line is favoured by Ten Hag, yet he isn't renowned for sweeping and adding security through this.
He can often allow chances to materialise, with substandard shot prevention rates meaning he faces more shots, and makes more saves, than other goalkeepers may have to, hence why his shot-stopping can look so exceedingly good.
There is also a sense that De Gea may not be commanding enough, whether from crosses or set-piece situations. He is a tall goalkeeper but can often still feel small relative to attackers, finding himself dominated when the ball is in the air. West Ham had a second goal ruled out for a soft foul on De Gea last Sunday, which saw the goalkeeper almost appear to dive somewhat.
He is generally poor at claiming crosses too. The loss away to Sevilla was a nightmare for De Gea, with two clear errors and an argument that he could have prevented the second goal had he attempted to deny the header from which the home side scored.
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Anyway, reports have reaffirmed that contract talks are progressing, with his current deal expiring in the summer. De Gea has continually hinted at wanting to stay, and Ten Hag has also confirmed: "We want David de Gea to stay."
One big stumbling block has inevitably been his extortionate wages, with even a major reduction of around half likely to see him keep earning between £150,000 and £200,000 per week. This doesn't align with suggestions that he isn't guaranteed to be the first-choice, with a back-up unlikely to earn such a salary.
It would be mismanagement from the higher-ups - typical of United in recent years - to allow a second-choice to extend his contract with such terms.
The reality is that there are significant questions over whether De Gea can completely, or even adequately, adapt his game at this stage of his career. There are no doubt options out there who are better-suited to Ten Hag's desires. The scenario is similar to that which saw Pep Guardiola offload Joe Hart at Manchester City - a decision vindicated over the years.
De Gea does offer intangibles: he is experienced, and with that comes leadership. He will often not shirk the responsibility of fronting up after bad results. His attitude cannot be knocked, and he has shown signs that he is trying to adapt to Ten Hag's needs.
But it does seem there is coming a stage imminently where the negatives will too drastically outweigh De Gea's positive influence.
There is a big caveat this summer of Ten Hag not necessarily knowing his budget. Mismanagement behind the scenes has led to limited funds and some Financial Fair Play trouble, with ownership uncertainty epitomising the Glazers' ineptitude.
If funds are stretched, there may be more pressing areas to address. Ten Hag needs a midfielder able to reliably control games while offering off-ball value, which could improve United in possession to the extend De Gea's weaknesses are masked; signing a striker able to convert the abundance of chances created could work to cancel out any goalkeeping mishaps.
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United have got to start to be ruthless. There shouldn't be time for sentimentality, as much as those with legendary status like De Gea deserve abundant appreciation.
It will be a marker of Ten Hag really meaning business and further sorting his authority if someone of De Gea's status at the club is moved on. And there is a sense that the night De Gea broke the goalkeeper appearance record at United could define his fate.
He is a legend at the club and nothing should be allowed to change that, but his days do now seem numbered. His service to the club has been nothing short of remarkable, but his course as 'numero uno' could soon be run.
But when he does exit the club, he should be held in heroic regard for the rest of history.
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