This was an afternoon that began in hope and ended in apathy for Manchester City. It initially gave the impression that, for the home fans at least, today was as much about passion and effort as anything else, an opportunity to put frustration aside and give Manuel Pellegrini a warm send-off. By full-time, more than half the crowd had poured out of the Etihad Stadium long before the manager took to the microphone to say his goodbyes.
The desire to see the City players simply give a good account of themselves quickly faded when the seriousness of the situation dawned: the chance of a top-four finish is now in Manchester United's hands.
City fans arrived here today hoping for a good result, to be able to say farewell to Pellegrini and, quite probably, a host of players. Pellegrini, who has known for months he will be replaced by Pep Guardiola, has had more than his fair share of critics this season, but there was plenty of goodwill in the air before kick-off. This was supposed to be an occasion to forget about the team's ills and celebrate one final rousing performance.
For so long it looked like the players would deliver. The hosts flew out of the traps and took the game to the Gunners. City have rarely struck early this season but Sergio Aguero's goal seemed to set up - if not a perfect farewell - then a cordial one.
City, though, threw the lead away almost immediately when Gael Clichy nearly put through his own net in comical circumstances, only for Eliaquim Mangala to get caught under the corner and allow Olivier Giroud to nod in the equaliser anyway.
Still, City piled forward and, while it was not always perfect, perfection was not demanded. After witnessing 10 league defeats this season, and what was adjudged a meek surrender to Real Madrid in midweek, a bit of intensity seemed paramount for the supporters here.
At one point in the first half, they were wildly cheering a scrappy passage of play mainly consisting 50-50 tackles. It was evidence that, on too many occasions this season, there has not been the required heart or commitment for many observers.
Arsene Wenger said City were "on fire", but despite starting brightly they were barely flickering by the end. Aguero whistled a volley just wide and Wilfried Bony, who was heckled as he changed into his kit and booed as he came on, rattled the crossbar with a nonchalant volley, but that was about it. Yaya Toure, thrown on at the end on what could be his final home appearance for the club, could not summon the spirit to bag one final pivotal goal. Just yet, anyway: there is still next week.
But it should never have come to this. That was the prevailing opinion around the Etihad Stadium early on Sunday afternoon, and more so now. The team that won the first five games of the season without conceding a goal were far from assured of Champions League football next season. After this, their chances are even slimmer.
They have recorded just one win against the Premier League's top eight all season, and the failure to beat Arsenal here means they will have to hope United don't beat both West Ham and Bournemouth, or even that Aston Villa shock the Gunners on the final day. But either possibility would require their own victory at Swansea City next Sunday and, after this, confidence in a victory will be in short supply.
The hope today was that City could provide one final hurrah to get them over the line, ensuring the Pellegrini era could go out with a relative bang. It was not to be.
Ten minutes after full-time the City players ambled back out onto the pitch to receive the thanks of the fans who had stayed behind, but more than half of the crowd had already filed out. As Pellegrini took the mic, he was serenaded by one final rendition of "Sheikh Mansour went to Spain", but the fans who have grown most frustrated with the final months of his reign - on this evidence, much more than of the matchday crowd - were long gone. There was little appreciation for the most successful City manager of the modern era.
Gracias Manuel, reads one banner pic.twitter.com/P3kUGxqFbo
— Sam Lee (@Sammy_Goal) May 8, 2016
And so this was to be a somewhat undignified end to an era for many. Pablo Zabaleta, likely to leave this summer after years of excellent service to the club, was too injured to attend and receive what would have been the warmest of the farewells.
Toure, one of the most important players in this club's history, was out there, head down and in his flip flops. Aleksandar Kolarov stood in the centre circle taking pictures as his team-mates completed their lap of honour. The Serbian left-back missed the start of the ceremony, in fact, walking out only after Pellegrini had already started his speech.
These players are not quite done yet: City must now go to Swansea and keep their fingers crossed that other teams do them a favour. Despite winning the League Cup and reaching the Champions League semi-final, this will go down as a disappointing season. The fans have voted with their feet. - Goal