Everybody knew this would have to get bad before it got better…but how bad we could never have foreseen.

Every time it got worse, we felt we were in the darkness of night edging towards the dawn of new hope.

Every nadir was out-nadired by what was always the bleeding obvious. And again on Sunday against Tottenham, we failed once again when an opportunity arose to give us a morale-boosting end to our worst season in the last thirty years.

And yet, I am not gutted by the result — last year’s was far more soul-destroying as it ultimately cost us CL qualification.  Now, our reaction is a shoulder-shrug for the damning season we have just endured and which cannot end quickly enough.

At the start of a week that looked so promising, we have now ceded five points from winning positions and Liverpool are up next, and the most we can get from this season is a measly 59 points — probably not enough to get us into the Europa League, given the scintillating form of Wolves and Sheffield United. And as for the Cup…

When we return in late September or early October, we hope that our squad will be vastly changed from its current composition. That the glaringly obvious deficiencies will have been addressed, so that for the first time in half a decade, we can approach a season with a genuine hope of being a Top Four contender.

There is no doubt that the man who has been tasked with this job is one we stand behind; who has the personality and drive to see it through, but we also have to remember that he is the one who felt Kolasinac could do a job for us on Sunday when it is patently obvious that he no longer possesses the athleticism for this level. So let us also proceed with Saliba-sized caution that a forced hand financially may see this project need some time.

We are not foolish or selfish enough to think that we can challenge for the title anytime soon, but we are well capable of being in season-long Top Four contention. Last season we were a Mustafi error or an Auba penalty away from securing it. This year, our Achilles heel has left us with a positive goal difference of just half a dozen despite having one of the contenders for the Golden Boot.

Too often we have seen the shaking of a head of curls asking the skies what just happened there. Too often we are asking ourselves if Andre Santos has slipped back into our side.

And yet there are positives, but they come with a caveat. For so long, we bossed the game against a poor Tottenham, yet who would have been surprised if they had undeservedly scored four, as they would have if Martinez had not been so sharp. Nothing is impossible with Arsenal anymore…as they come up with innovative new ways to break our hearts.

The only small comfort from this season is that Tottenham are probably in a more perilous position than we are, even if they finish above us, which is not entirely a given. Their almost sole dependance on one player and their massive gamble on their new stadium leaves them even more vulnerable to the financial woes that will impact football this coming term and have illustrated that what we did post 2006 (Paris and the new stadium) was a notable achievement.

Sunday’s game was just a synopsis of a season which seems to have gone on for years. It is an age since Emery was applauding Willock’s tackle at Newcastle; that Xhaka was being booed off, that Ozil played. The image of the Victorian parasols shading our stars in the sun will be one that will stay with us forever, symbolising the beginning of the very end of a forgettable period in our club’s history.

Despite our newfound energy and youthful look, the fact remains that as long as we play defenders who cannot defend, we are going to have days and nights like this. Our club has failed us in allowing to happen what happened. 

The indulgence of the latter days of the Wenger/Gazidis era, the dreadful management decisions, the poor nurturing of player contracts; the shocking recruiting and the even more shocking offloading created the environment in which mediocrity was allowed to reign.

The loss of the European money will be a blow to the club, but there is no doubt that dragging our squad around Turkistan on a Thursday night and expecting us to challenge later that weekend would not aid our rebuild. Although, with the future of the League Cup in doubt, our season may have just 45 games, leaving us well refreshed to focus on the Premier League. This can be possible with a tight, quality squad, void of the deadwood.

I am not unduly worried either about our ability to attract the right calibre of players. The option to be part of a well-paid rebuild at a top club in one of the most exciting cities in the world will overcome any loss of Thursday night football.

Of course, we may still take nine points from our remaining fixtures or win the Cup, but maybe finishing ninth or tenth will focus the minds even more on the exciting project that lies ahead.

Keep the faith. Of all the clubs, we had little to look forward to post lockdown, but most of it has so far exceeded our low expectations. 

The real work starts on July 26 when the boot out and reboot of Arsenal commences with the lack of sentimentality that is needed to clear out an old attic. Perhaps the last few games have been a showreel for a sellout, designed to add a few million in value to each of those earmarked for the door.

No matter what, next season cannot be as eventful or as horrific as the one just ending. Or did I think that last year?