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Newcastle United supporters must have thought those days were finally over.
For years Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had been a thorn in their side during his previous spell at Arsenal from 2018-22.
But Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe had warned the 36-year-old "looked as good as ever" before Tuesday night's Champions League encounter in Marseille.
Sure enough Aubameyang haunted Newcastle once again on the biggest stage of all, with his quickfire double turning the game on its head at the Stade Velodrome as the French side claimed a 2-1 comeback success.
It was a familiar story for Howe's men as the visitors' struggles on the road continued.
Just like their most recent away games against Brentford and West Ham, Newcastle took the lead. Just like at the Gtech Community Stadium and the London Stadium, they ultimately threw it away.
Defender Dan Burn called it "10 minutes of madness" and, while Howe clung to "positive signs", this was another painful defeat.
"It leaves us a little bit bruised right this second, but we'll come back," said the frustrated boss. "We've got some great games ahead.
"This competition was never going to be straightforward for us. It was never going to be plain sailing.
"It's the elite competition it is because you're going to be challenged and stretched, and it will make us a better team for all these experiences."
Yet it could have been so different after Newcastle initially handled a white-hot atmosphere so well by gaining the upper hand.
The noise levels were certainly deafening before kick-off - even referee Maurizio Mariani and the officials were loudly whistled when they emerged for the warm-up.
Flares were let off, ticker tape flickered in the air and a stunning tifo rose from the terraces with an accompanying banner reading "For my town, for my club".
But Newcastle were prepared for it.
They had travelled early, trained at the Velodrome on Monday evening and looked to prepare slightly differently on game day, "to keep the players mentally engaged and ready for this game" in Howe's own words.
That preparation looked to have paid off against a side second in Ligue 1.
Rather than being cowed by the crowd, Newcastle made an aggressive start.
They got their reward when Harvey Barnes - fresh from his match-winning double against Manchester City on Sunday - fired his side in front in the sixth minute.
But, crucially, Newcastle failed to press home their advantage and Marseille rallied.
The visitors had enough warnings after Aubameyang spurned a series of opportunities in the first half.
But the much-travelled Marseille forward was not so forgiving after the break, as Newcastle paid a heavy price for a sloppy kick-off.
Defender Fabian Schar punted the ball forward and his side failed to get it back under control after losing a series of duels deep in the opposition half.
It was far too easy for Timothy Weah to take a number of players out of the game with a pass to Darryl Bakola and the 17-year-old played a through-ball into the right-hand channel behind Newcastle's defence.
A Marseille equaliser was not exactly a foregone conclusion given how far away Aubameyang was from goal.
But keeper Nick Pope rushed off his line in an attempt to get there ahead of Aubameyang, only to be caught in no man's land as the forward nipped in and finished superbly from a tight angle out on the right wing.
Howe was keen to stress he "backed" Pope after the game, despite the poor decision, pointing to how the goalkeeper made "some really good saves against Manchester City just three days ago".
But this was a night where his side's vulnerabilities at the back, and on the road, reared their head again.
Newcastle's defending for Marseille's decisive second goal just four minutes later was not much better.
Weah beat Tino Livramento down the right and picked out Aubameyang, who got ahead of his marker Schar to finish neatly at the near post.
Although there was still plenty of time left for Newcastle to get back into the game, damningly, they never truly looked like equalising.
"Ten, 15 minutes of madness at the start of the second half has cost us," Burn told TNT Sports.
"It's definitely disappointing to come to a team like this and a stadium like this, atmosphere like this and put all that in and not come away with anything."
That has become a familiar story.
Newcastle have won each of their last six games at St James' Park in all competitions, but have only triumphed on their travels on one occasion in the last seven months. That was the 4-0 victory at Union St Gilloise on 1 October - one of three in the Champions League that has left them in eighth place in the standings.
And they are going to have to rally quickly for another big test on the road at Everton on Saturday if they are to climb from 14th spot in the Premier League.
"This is a tough one to take," added Howe. "But the lads are robust, they're experienced and we're ready to fight back."
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