So close, but yet so far – and the mood was defiant.
Mikel Arteta, in his heart of hearts, may have known Arsenal’s title race was run before this match. As Pep Guardiola’s former assistant, he knows as well as anyone just how ruthless Manchester City can be.
It was certainly over when City raced into an early lead against West Ham, on a day when they had to not win for Arsenal to have a shot at a first league title in 20 years.
So by the post-match interviews at Emirates Stadium, Arteta and his players had time to come to terms with second place – and to draw positives from an impressive campaign.